Royal Yacht to cheer up Diamond Jubilee - the solution

So the Queen wants a yacht!

Or rather Michael Gove thinks we should as a grateful nation give her one as a 60 years long service award for her current job. I'm thinking the £60m that it would cost might go some way to giving some of us without jobs greater assistance in finding one, rather than as an award for one that one was merely born into. Most of us who are unemployed don't have the luxury of a family 'firm' to fall back on.

However, if as Michael Gove says he is worried that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations are being put in the shade by the Olympic, I have a solution. If only George VI's doctors has euthanased him a month early to avoid such a clash, rather than a few hours so his death would make the morning papers.

But seriously the solution is to actually get her a yacht, not one of his motor cruisers with funnels etc, but a yacht with ropes and sails and everything. It is something she could easily get tutelage from some of her distant cousins. Hopefully they can get her up to speed to emulate many of her cousins in taking part in the games themselves.

For example the exploits of ex-King (then Crown Prince) Constantine of Greece (pictured GE3) in the 1960 games in Rome, who took the gold medal with his crew in the Dragon class, a now defunct class. But members of the Royal Family have spent time on Constantine's yacht, or that of his sister Sofia's husband, better known as King Juan Carlos of Spain. So there is a definite connection between the Windsors and Olympic gold in yachting.

Of course poor Constantine didn't quite have a home regatta he had to take part in the Med but at the Bay of Naples. Though he is a first cousin to the Duke of Edinburgh, but although being descended through Victoria's eldest daughter Victoria is higher in the order of succession that Prince Philip would be who is only descended from a younger daughter Alice.

In 1964 and 68 another cousin a descendant of Edward VII's daughter Maud, the current King Harald V of Norway took part in the 5.5m class (boats like those in the picture). His best was 8th in Tokyo in 64. However, his father Olav V had won Gold in 1928 in a 6m boat. Harald is still sailing competitively at least until recently as in 2007 he came 6th in a class at the World Championships and won a European title in 2005.

Constantine's sister Sophia has managed to give birth to two more Royal Olympian sailors. Her second daughter Christina took part in the regatta in 1988 coming 20th in the Tornado having carried the standard in the opening ceremony. Sophia's son Crown Prince Felipe has the honour of being the only Royal who has sailed in an Olympic regatta on home soil at the Barcelona Games of 1992, when he also had the honour of carrying his nations flag before his father and mother in the box. In the regatta he game in sixth in the Soling class.

So maybe we should get Her Majesty a Elliott or 470 class yacht and see if she can qualify for the Olympics as a condition of her keeping it.