According to the monarchist Telegraph newspaper about 100 Conservative Party legislators, about a third of Conservative MPs, believe that £120m should be spent to buy a new yacht for the Windsor family. Some of the money would be taken from the overseas aid budget.
The newspaper quoted former defence minister Gerald Howarth as asking why £120m could not be found for a yacht when £10m had been spent on a aeroplane for the use of the Prime Minister. He said it was “not a luxury but a must have”.
Mr Howarth, who represents Aldershot in Parliament, told the Telegraph that the decision made in 1997 not to buy a new boat for the Windsors was “one of the darker moments of my political life”.
According to the conservative newspaper navy staff produced a secret design for the yacht that was approved by the Windsors in 1997.
One MP justified a new yacht for the Windsors as a means of “making Britain a leading free trade economy” when it leaves the European Union. Another MP claimed that a yacht for the feudal family would show that “the British are back, confident and proud”.
The government has rejected the idea of a new Windsor yacht unless it is privately funded.