Named after the color of its hull, which matches that of the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Dragon class boat Bluebottle was originally a wedding present to then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh from the members of the Island Sailing Club in Cowes. Built in 1947 by Camper & Nicholson in Gosport in South East England, the Duke, a keen sailor, regularly raced the boat with His family including his children Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Prince Phillip is seen here at the helm with Uffa Fox, CBE, an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast he befriended and regularly raced with at Cowes.

The Royal Racer was often loaned for races, amongst which she won the Coupe de la Mediterranée and a bronze medal with the British sailing team during the Melbourne Olympics of 1956. Later, she was used as a training boat at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth until the 1990s.

Revived after decades during which she had not sailed, the boat underwent an impressive 18-month restoration after which she won her first three races. Today, Bluebottle lies outside the Greenwich Marit.mes Museum in Falmouth.