Harry, Meghan interview stirs up memories of royal yacht’s visit
A rumor of a possible visit from Queen Elizabeth II to Useppa, Cayo Costa or Captiva was the hottest topic of conversation among local islanders during Memorial Day weekend in 1991.
But it is a story that has been lost with time.
Tom Foster was one of the original Captiva Current reporters in the early 1990s, when the newspaper started. Now a senior proposal manager who manages proposals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Foster used to cover stories from the coast of Charlotte County down to Bonita Springs. He said the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, took the Royal yacht Britannia from the United Kingdom to Washington, D.C., to meet then President George W. Bush and his family.
Foster’s original article said the 412-foot yacht had a crew of 275 people when the queen or member of the Royal family was on board.
There were rumors of an appearance in Southwest Florida, but the queen traveled from Miami to Tampa and did not stop in Lee County. However, the crew and royal household did. On a late Monday afternoon, they dropped anchor two miles from Boca Grande Pass. The crew attending to the Britannia left the ship in four launches for a reception at the Useppa Island Club.
St. Petersburg and Useppa Island resident William Mills Jr. invited the crew to the island after spending a week docked in the Tampa Harbor. Part-time Useppa resident Lord John Fieldhouse also maintained contact with the Royal Navy. The 1991 article said those Useppa connections had resulted in four visits by the crews of four British warships.
Gigi Mills said her husband, Mills Jr., has been involved with the British Royal Navy for years.
“He can talk your ear off about the Royal Navy,” she said and laughed.
The Mills got word that the Britannia was coming to Tampa, and they made sure to keep an eye out for it. Mills said the Britannia got to Tampa on May 21, 1991.
“That thing was impressive,” she said. “If you were sitting there watching it dock, it just kept coming and coming.”
The Britannia was built in 1954 to be used as a yacht during peacetime and converted into a hospital in times of war.
According to Mills, Queen Elizabeth II came over to knight Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf before heading over to Texas. Schwarzkopf commanded the American-led forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and became the nation’s most acclaimed military hero since Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur.
About 40 years ago, Mills’ husband used to sponsor personnel when Royal Navy ships went to St. Petersburg to refuel in the winter. She said he was even made an honorary member of the Royal Navy. Families in the area would sponsor sailors who did not have much for Christmas.
“My husband would sponsor the captain and first officer,” Mills said.
One year, a sailor stayed with them. Mills did not know it at the time, but he would soon play a role in the queen’s rumored visit. Years later, he sent the Mills a postcard to tell them about the trip.
“When the ship went to Tampa, the captain sent us an invite and we took him out to dinner,” Mills said. “He kept talking about Useppa. Many ships stopped near Useppa because you can’t come in through the Boca Grande Pass.”
Foster’s article said more than 40 crewmembers and Rear Adm. Robert Woodard came ashore in 1991 when the Britannia stopped on the island. One of the crewmembers was quoted saying they were going to pick up some royal family members in Lisbon. Most of the island residents and guests turned out for a reception party at the Collier Inn.
Commenting on the warm reception by the Useppa residents, Woodard said, “This is our last stop in the United States. It’s paradise here.”
Before the visit and earlier that month, the queen was supposed to visit Cayo Costa to go shelling and walk the beach. A couple was going to entertain the queen. A May 24, 1991, newspaper article from the Boca Beacon said the U.S. Air Force spotted Cayo Costa from the air and thought it was “perfect.” But then at the last minute, it started pouring down rain, and the queen had to stay on board the yacht.
According to Foster, as he reminisced on the 1991 event, the late Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew accompanied the royal couple on their visit to the White House. Foster has covered many stories, but that is an experience that stands out to him decades later.
“The editor at that time, Millie Milner, called me up at my Cape Coral home on that holiday weekend to drive out to the Pine Island docks where a boat would pick up a Wall Street Journal reporter, a Sarasota TV news crew, and myself for a trip to the royal yacht,” Foster said.
And it was not just any boat.
“It was a pleasure to be on that deck,” he said. “If only for a short time.”
Later on, Foster said it was “something.”
“I’m walking on the deck of the same place the Queen of England has for decades, so I felt privileged,” he said. “It was one of the more special times of having the job.”
Foster said he also talked to and dined with the Royal Marines and Navy personnel at a Pine Island restaurant. According to Foster, there were about 80 to 90 men and women.
“I got to sit by some of them and they told me that they can’t share this right now, but Diana had a royal meltdown because of what Prince Charles was doing,” he said. “And she was throwing knickknacks and pottery at Charles. It was very stressful for the crew and for the family.”
Foster said Prince Andrew and his wife were a little more decent to the crew than Prince Charles and Princess Diana were. Talking about them brought up the recent Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.
“I saw that latest interview with Harry and Meghan,” he said. “I think it’s all Charles’ fault for making everyone’s lives miserable because he was miserable.”
All these years later, covering the 1991 Useppa visit is a special memory for Foster.
“It’s a memory I cherish to this day,” he said. “How many times have you been invited on the Britannia?”