Royal barge

The Karaweik barge on Yangon's Kandawgyi Lake is based on the design of a royal barge.

The royal barge, called phaungdaw (ဖောင်တော်), was of historic importance during the monarchical era, and retains cultural significance in modern-day Myanmar (Burma).

The Karaweik barge on Yangon's Kandawgyi Lake and an iconic symbol of the city, was designed by Burmese architect Ngwe Hlaing, and was based on a royal barge.[1]

The ceremonial barge used during the Hpaung Daw U Pagoda pagoda festival is modeled after a royal barge.

Hpaung Daw U Pagoda, which is situated on Inle Lake, is known for a major pagoda festival during which four of the Buddha images from the pagoda are placed on a royal barge designed as a hintha bird and taken throughout Inle Lake.

A royal barge moored on the moat surrounding Mandalay Palace.

The royal barge was an important ceremonial possession of the Burmese monarchy, and was used for ceremonial and state affairs, such as a procession around the royal palace moat following a monarch's coronation. By the Konbaung dynasty, several types of royal state barges existed, each distinguished by a specific mythical figurehead at the front of the barge, and each allocated to different members of the royal court:

• Pyigyimon (ပြည်ကြီးမွန်) - two conjoined gilded barges crowned with a seven-tiered roof (pyatthat), with dragon-headed hulls and carved figureheads of the garuda (a mythical bird) and naga (a mythical serpent), and Thagyamin at the center[2]
• Nawarupa (နဝရူပ) - used by the royal ministers and officers, with a figurehead of a nawarupa (a chimeric animal with the mane of a karaweik, the hump of bull, the tail of a ngagyin fish, two elephant tusks, the trunk of a makara, and horns of a toe naya, two wings of parakeet, and a front and hind leg of a horse[2]
• Nagadewa (နာဂဒေဝ) - used by the royal ministers and officers, with the figurehead of a nagaraja[2]
• Pyinsarupa (ပဉ္စရူပ) - used by the chief queens, a gilt barge with the figurehead of a pyinsarupa (a chimeric animal with the mane of karaweik bird, the tusk and trunk of an elephant, the hump of bull, the tail of a ngagyin fish, and the horns of a toe naya)[2]
• Eni (ဧဏီ) - a barge adorned with the figurehead of a deer[2]
• Hintha (ဟင်္သာ) - used by princes, a barge adorned with the figurehead of a hamsa (mythical bird)[2]
• Udaung (ဥဒေါင်း) - used by princes, a barge adorned with the figure of peacock[2]

The elaborate figureheads and motifs used in Burmese royal barges influenced the construction of increasingly elaborate Siamese royal barges toward the end of the Ayutthaya period.[3]

Swedish royal barge Vasaorden which took part in the celebrational procession following the Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling, 2010

Vasaorden is the Swedish royal barge. The original royal barge of this name was built in 1774 on the orders of King Gustav III, to a designed by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, but was destroyed in a dockyard fire in 1921. A private fundraising led to a new barge being constructed in 1923 with the help of the old blueprints. The Vasaorden is used on special occasions such as royal weddings.[4]

The Royal Barge Procession is a ceremony of both religious and royal significance which has been taking place for nearly 700 years. Some of the royal barges are kept at the National Museum of Royal Barges.

The Thames was a regular thoroughfare for the Sovereign until the middle of the 19th century, on state occasions or between the Royal Palaces of Windsor, Westminster, Hampton Court, Greenwich and the Tower of London.

Royal Nore

There is currently no State Barge in active service, but until 2017[5] the Royal Nore, owned and maintained by the Port of London Authority, was used whenever a member of the Royal Family travelled on the river Thames for an official engagement.[6]

The Royal Standard and Regalia were displayed when Queen Elizabeth was on board. The Queen is always accompanied by her Bargemaster, along with eight Royal Watermen in full ceremonial dress standing on the fore deck.[7]

Royal Nore was at the centre of the River Progress and Pageant held to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in June 1977. At the time the vessel was named ‘Nore’; she was subsequently renamed Royal Nore in recognition of her service, by Royal Command.[8] She is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland, alongside the similarly retired Royal Yacht, HMY Britannia.

The royal barge Gloriana at the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, 2012

• Pleasure barge
• Bucentaur, the ceremonial barge of the Venetian doge
• Prince Frederick's Barge

• Bartram, Graham (2012). "A Visual Guide to the Flags used in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant" (PDF). The Flag Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

• Line-up Royal Barges Thailand
• Royal barge at Digitaltmuseum