visit.

No members of the Royal family will be aboard the Britannia when it berths at number five and six wharf on Front Street after fuelling at Ireland Island.

Rear Admiral Robert Woodard, the commanding officer of Britannia , took his appointment as Flag Officer Royal Yachts on September 18, 1990.

He is an aviator with 16 years experience in specialist appointments and has also previously commanded HM ships Amazon and Glasgow, the Royal Naval Air Station at Portland, 771 Squadron and 848 Naval Air Squadron.

Admiral Woodard is the great-grandson of Nathaniel Woodard, founder of the Woodard group of public schools in the United Kingdom.

The Britannia was named and launched by Her Majesty The Queen at Clydebank in 1953, and commissioned on January 11, 1954.

She serves as an official and private residence for the Queen and other members of the Royal family when they are engaged on visits overseas or voyaging in home waters.

The yacht also takes part in naval exercises and undertakes some routine hydrographic tasks while at sea.

Britannia was built by John Brown (Clydebank) Ltd. as a replacement for the 50 year-old HMY Victoria and Albert .

She was designed with dual functions in mind. First as a Royal Yacht in peacetime and secondly, as a hospital ship in time of tension or hostility.

Merchant ship practice was followed in her construction and the structural plans were submitted to and approved by Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh took a personal interest in the interior decorations and the choice of furnishings.

The Royal and State apartments contain some of the furniture and fittings from the Victoria and Albert . The bulkheads are lined with souvenirs from earlier tours.

A Royal Marines Band will be on board the Britannia when it arrives on the island.

The group consists of a director of music and 26 musicians from the Band of the Commander in Chief of the Naval Home Command.

Admiral Woodard will host a private reception on board Britannia tonight, following which the band will perform a Beat Retreat ceremony alongside the Royal Yacht at 8 p.m.

The RM band will join the Bermuda Regiment Band and the Pipe Band in a combined "extraordinary'' retreat ceremony on Front Street from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

While in Bermuda the RM band will also be performing for a few private engagements.

For extra-curricular activity, the ship's company of the yacht will be playing rugby, soccer, hockey and squash against the police as well as diving and exploring the island. They will also attend social functions.

Britannia will leave Bermuda for the Caribbean on Monday.

ROYAL YACHT -- The Queen's yacht HMY Britannia arrives in Bermuda today for an informal visit before heading to the Caribbean for Royal Duty.