The Spectator

How many countries have royal yachts?

[Getty Images] 
issue 26 June 2021

Royal waves

Does any other country have a royal yacht?

— The Queen of Denmark uses HDMY Dannebrog, a 260ft vessel built in 1932 to replace a paddle steamer of the same name.

— The Dutch royal family own a 50ft 1950s yacht, De Groene Draeck, used only locally.

— King Harald V of Norway has the use of HNoMY Norge, a 264ft vessel originally built for aircraft manufacturer Thomas Sopwith in 1937 and bought by the Norwegian people for their royal family after the second world war. It was restored following a serious fire in 1985.

— King Mohammed VI of Morocco owns El Boughaz I, a 133ft yacht built for a private American owner in 1930 and originally called the Black Douglas.

Covid death counts

Is the UK still near the top of chart for Covid deaths? Worst 20 countries (deaths per million residents since pandemic started):

Peru: 5,699

Hungary: 3,109

Bosnia: 2,953

N. Macedonia: 2,628

Bulgaria: 2,608

Montenegro: 2,555

Brazil: 2,345

Czech Republic: 2,822

Slovakia: 2,287

Belgium: 2,160

Slovenia: 2,122

Italy: 2,108

Croatia: 2,003

Poland: 1,979

Argentina: 1,953

Colombia: 1,944

UK: 1,876

US: 1,854

Mexico: 1,775

Spain: 1,724

Fanning out

Uefa threatened to take the Euros final away from Wembley and stage it in Budapest unless the government allows 2,500 officials and VIPs to travel without quarantine.

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