MV ''Spirit of Chartwell'' is a

hotel barge A hotel barge (fr. ''péniche hôtel'') is a barge that has been built or converted to serve as a hotel or other kind of lodging. Hotel barges are generally found on rivers and canals in Europe, and may be used for river cruises or permanently mo ...

owned and operated by Portuguese holiday company Douro Azul for luxury cruises along the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

river,

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, Portugal. Previously owned and operated by the Magna Carta Steamship Company for luxury cruises along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, she was selected in late 2011 to be the

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 barges are currently used in monarchies such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Thailand. Traditionally the use of royal barges ...

as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and carried

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

and

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

in a flotilla of more than 1,000 vessels during the

Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was a parade on 3 June 2012 of 670 boats on the Tideway of the River Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Queen, Prince Philip and other members of th ...

on 3 June 2012. The ship was sold in June 2012 to Douro Azul to operate luxury cruises in the Douro river. She was designed in the style of the Côte d'Azur Pullman Express de luxe train and carries artefacts from the original train and ocean liners such as , and .

Former use and refit

The ship was formerly a

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

ship known as ''Vincent van Gogh''. She was refitted as a luxury Thames cruise vessel by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Kooiman Group in 2009/2010.

Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

For the

in 2012 the vessel was lavishly decorated in red, gold and purple, reminiscent of royal barges of the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the additions were thousands of flowers, an ornate gilded prow sculpture of Old Father Thames carved and moulded in jesmonite, symbols of royalty, and a large red velvet banner with a royal coat of arms made of more than half a million gold-coloured buttons. A special warrant was issued by the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

to permit ''Spirit of Chartwell'' to wear the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross ...

whilst serving as the Royal Barge on 3 June 2012. When the Queen was on board, she also flew the

Royal Standard of the United Kingdom The Royal Standards of the United Kingdom refers to either one of two similar flags used by King Charles III in his capacity as Sovereign of the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. Two versions of the ...

from the bow.

References

External links

*
Official websiteThames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit of Chartwell 1997 ships Hotel barges Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II River cruise ships

Former use and refit

Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

See also

References

External links