Lavishly illustrated, this is a chronicle of royal, state and presidential yachts and other ships used by kings and queens, emperors and empresses, prinees and princesses, dictators and democrats from the seventeenth century to the present day. With over 225 photographs, drawings and paintings, some never before seen in print, along with a sparkling narrative full of anecdotes and insights, this is a fascinating book to treasure. Tim Madge has brought together in these pages a unique record of some of the most beautiful and unusual ships ever to set out on the high seas, from the first small sailing jachts of Charles II to the huge super-yachts of modern Middle Eastern potentates. He chartS the great golden age of the Victorian steam yachts with their elegant lines and lavish interiors. He explores, too, the extraordinary lasting rivalry between King Edward VII and Kaiser Wilhelm II, both in the large ships they used as royal yachts, and in their battles oH Cowes and Kiel in their immense and beautiful racing yachts. But it has not been only royalty who have used these stately ships. Hitler had one, so did Franco and Kemal Ataturk. American presidents from Lincoln to Richard Nixon ali found a use for state vessels from riverboats to much larger ships. Nothing, though, has been able to match the continuing 1980s fashion among Middle Eastern rulers for huge oceangoing luxury palaces. Ali these vessels past and present, have a magie of their own; those stili afloat attraeting attention whenever and wherever in the world they appear. They have been, 100, the scenes for many state occasions, intrigues and aHairs, loves and losses. Among the most celebrated, Britannia is perhaps the last symbol of a world now lost. With rising costs and an emphasis on economy, Tim Madge asks whether we will see for much longer these particularly evocative trappings of regal and state power.