Royal barge

A royal barge is a ceremonial barge that is used by a monarch for processions and transport on a body of water.

Royal Golden Barge of Burma, 1795
Swedish royal barge Vasaorden which took part in the celebrational procession following the Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling, 2010

Royal barges are currently used in monarchies such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Thailand.

Traditionally the use of royal barges was of high importance in southeast Asian monarchies such as Siam, Burma, Brunei, Riau and Cambodia.

Burma
The Karaweik barge on Yangon's Kandawgyi Lake is based on the design of a royal barge.

The royal barge was an important ceremonial possession of the Burmese monarchy. The royal barge retains cultural significance in modern-day Myanmar (Burma). The Karaweik barge on Yangon's Kandawgyi Lake, designed by Burmese architect U Ngwe Hlaing, was based on the Pyigyimon royal barge.[1] The Hpaung Daw U Pagoda is known for a major pagoda festival in which four of the Buddha images from the pagoda are placed on a royal barge designed as a hintha bird and taken throughout Inle Lake.

Sweden

Vasaorden is the Swedish royal barge. The original royal barge of this name was built in 1774 on the orders of King Gustav III, to a designed by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, but was destroyed in a dockyard fire in 1921. A private fundraising led to a new barge being constructed in 1923 with the help of the old blueprints. The Vasaorden is used on special occasions such as royal weddings.[2]

Thailand

The Royal Barge Procession is a ceremony of both religious and royal significance which has been taking place for nearly 700 years. Some of the royal barges are kept at the National Museum of Royal Barges.

United Kingdom

The Thames was a regular thoroughfare for the Sovereign until the middle of the 19th century, on state occasions or between the Royal Palaces of Windsor, Westminster, Hampton Court, Greenwich and the Tower of London.

Royal Nore

There is currently no State Barge in active service, but until 2017[3] the Royal Nore, owned and maintained by the Port of London Authority, was used whenever a member of the Royal Family travelled on the river Thames for an official engagement.[4]

The Royal Standard and Regalia were displayed when Queen Elizabeth was on board. The Queen is always accompanied by her Bargemaster, along with eight Royal Watermen in full ceremonial dress standing on the fore deck.[5]

Royal Nore was at the centre of the River Progress and Pageant held to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in June 1977. At the time the vessel was named ‘Nore’; she was subsequently renamed Royal Nore in recognition of her service, by Royal Command.[6] She is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland, alongside the similarly retired Royal Yacht, HMY Britannia.

The royal barge Gloriana at the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, 2012

Gloriana

A new royal barge named Gloriana was built in 2011–2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the first such craft to be built for 100 years.[7] Gloriana is a rowing barge, powered by 18 oarsmen; it took a leading position in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June 2012 and carried ten flags, among them those representing the four home nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,[8] as well as the flag of the City of London and the flag of Cornwall.

MV Spirit of Chartwell

During the celebrations on 3 June 2012, the Queen travelled aboard the MV Spirit of Chartwell, which acted as royal barge for the occasion.[9] A special warrant was issued by the Secretary of State for Defence to permit the MV Spirit of Chartwell to wear the White Ensign whilst serving as the royal barge on 3 June 2012.[10] When the Queen was on board, it also flew the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom from the bow.

See also

References
  1. Tin Mg Oo (2003). Aspects of Myanmar Culture. Yangon: Zun Pwint Publishing House. pp. 78–79.
  2. http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=3598325
  3. https://pla.co.uk/Royal-Nore
  4. "The Queen's Watermen". The Royal Household. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  5. "The Royal Nore". The Fleet. Woods' Silver Fleet. Archived from the original on June 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  6. https://pla.co.uk/Royal-Nore
  7. Daily Mail (25 April 2012). "Queen names Gloriana". London. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
  8. Bartram, A Visual Guide... p.5.
  9. Paul Harrison (11 December 2011). "Royal Barge 'Jewel' For The Queen's Jubilee". Sky News. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  10. Bartram, A Visual Guide... p.16.

Sources

 

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.