Prince Philip's beloved Bluebottle makes a triumphant return at Cowes Week

A yacht with a special place in the late Prince Philip’s heart has written another memorable chapter to its racing history, with Bluebottle taking the Dragon class title at Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight.

The 29ft yacht, once sailed by Prince Philip, secured three race victories and a 2nd place finish, finishing ahead of 25 other Dragon class competitors.

This year’s North Sails Cowes Week marked its 200th anniversary, bringing together around 5,000 competitors across 642 boats, with 156 trophies awarded throughout the regatta.

Bluebottle was built by Camper and Nicholsons of Gosport in 1947 and gifted to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip as a wedding present by members of the Cowes Island Sailing Club.

As a passionate sailor, Philip regularly took the yacht out himself. In 1957, he sailed Bluebottle along the Solent with his eight-year-old son, the future King Charles III, beside him.

After a racing career that spanned continents, Bluebottle was retired in 1961 and later passed to cadets at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

Skipper Graham Bailey once joked: “I'm told that no cadet dares use her for fear of pranging her.”

David Heritage Racing Yachts in Cowes eventually restored the yacht to racing condition, allowing her to compete again after six decades.

Philip died in 2021 before the restoration was completed.

Bailey called his death before the project’s conclusion “one of the great sadnesses”.