Cryrian Royal Flotilla

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Cryrian Royal Flotilla
Founded1865
Country Cryria
AllegianceHouse of Leidensen
RoleVIP Transport
Part ofHouse of Leidensen
Home PortLeidenstad, Cryria

The Cryrian Royal Flotilla is the personal fleet of the House of Leidensen. It ranges from modern superyachts to traditional sailing vessels.

The House of Leidensen once held direct ownership and ultimate command over their personal fleet of warships, and historically relied on maritime power to maintain its control of the Kingdom. This is reflected in the Drifting Throne, which gained its name from being transported by ship during the days of Cryria's itinerant court. As the Kingdom's bureaucracy developed and expanded, the institution of the Royal Cryrian Navy was increasingly formalized and operational command grew ever more distant from the Monarchy. By the time constitutionalism was fully established in the 19th-century, the Monarchy's role in naval affairs was customarily limited to purely ceremonial matters. At this time, a separate discretionary flotilla was established for the royal household's personal use, and this became known as the Cryrian Royal Flotilla.

Today the Cryrian Royal Flotilla remains organizationally independent of the CDF and is paid for directly by the House of Leidensen's personal funds, though it frequently makes use of military personnel for its operation.

Bases

The Cryrian Royal Flotilla is traditionally based at the Port of Leidenstad, though some of its smaller vessels are capable of sailing up the River Leiden to Lake Lasi, and anchor at Tvillingblom Palace. The Flotilla's air wing operates from the Kamburn Royal Arsenal and also leases a special terminal and VIP hanger at Talvere's Queen Lielsta International Airport.

Vessels

At present, the Royal Flotilla is centered upon two yachts and a single support ship. It also operates a traditional sailing ship as well as two smaller coastal vessels capable of navigating Älmark's river network. Ships of the Royal Flotilla are the only Cryrian vessels to bear the appellation of "His/Her Majesty's Ship," reflecting their direct association with the Crown. Ships of the regular navy are in turn referred to as "Royal Cryrian Navy Ships."

Tvillingblom-series Superyachts

The Blom av Talvere, one of the two identical Tvillingblom-series superyachts

The Tvillingblom-series consists of two purpose-built yachts constructed by Marlberg AS for the House of Leidensen. Completed in 2010 with lengths of over 160 meters, both vessels ranked among the largest such ships afloat at their time of construction. They were also the largest vessels built at the Lavini Steel Shipyards, which specialize in the assembly of luxury vessels. Their name references the twinflowers used as symbols of the Royal Family. Named the Blom av Talvere and the Blom av Vesterholm respectively, both ships were built to be precisely identical, down to their interior layouts. Amenities range from a pair of helipads to three landing craft purchased from the RCRN and a mini-submarine. The vessels have been used to host a variety of events including members of the Cryrian elite as well as foreign personalities, most infamously once including President Manjit Rahar of Serramal. As information from the yachts are tightly restricted once at sea and no media personnel have ever been allowed onboard, the nature of these gatherings is largely unknown and the source of several conspiracy theories. The Household Ministry maintains that their purpose is "To build ties and create space for valuable dialogue with notable individuals from both Cryria and around the world."

The ultimate expenditure on the vessels are estimated to total some 5 billion CKR, and as such the two ships drew an unusual amount of light to the typically obscured finances of the House of Leidensen. Though the Flotilla is not paid for by public funds, the cost along with the environmental impact of these ships briefly turned them into a focus of criticism by the Crown's detractors.

The vessels reportedly incorporate a variety of defensive measures for its passengers' safety, highlighting worries around potential piracy or terrorism on international voyages. While no specifics have been confirmed by the manufacturers or the Flotilla, they are thought to range from anti-camera lasers to bulletproof glass, armor plating, and a naval countermeasures suite in addition to the Crown's standard security detachment.

Support Vessels

The HMS Rikeling is a retired Malmgren-class amphibious transport ship acquired by the flotilla from the RCRN's mothball fleet in 2012 along with its air and landing craft. Now over fifty-years old, vessel is used for a support tender and accompanies the Tvillingblommen on their voyages. The vessel sometimes sails with an assigned detachment of Naval Infantry and as such is thought to retain at least some of its military capabilities, though the tank deck has been converted to hold equipment and supplies for its companion vessels.

The HMS Kvest serves as an oceangoing tug that can help maneuver the flotilla's larger vessels through waters they could not otherwise navigate. It is further equipped with deluge guns which allow it to act as a fire boat in the event of emergencies.

HMS Veskvyy Koloss

Though officially part of the flotilla, the HMS Veskvyy Koloss is a publicly available museum ship anchored in Leidenstad. A wooden hulled ship-of-the-line, the Koloss served as a Cryrian flagship and later a training vessel until 1859, when it was formally retired. Due to the vessel's historical importance, the House of Leidensen arranged for its transfer to the Flotilla upon its formation in order to avoid its scrapping. Though it has not sailed significantly since retirement, it is still well preserved and serves as an excellent example of Cryrian Age of Sail shipbuilding near its zenith.

Coastal Vessels

Two smaller yachts - HMS Nevryy and Solnyy respectively - are also operated by the flotilla, alongside a single sailing schooner, the HMS Malte. These are capable of navigating the Kingdom's extensive riverways, but are otherwise confined to the archipelago. As the Tvillingblommen have not sailed extensively since 2019, these ships are the most active yachts of the flotilla.

Aircraft

The Royal Household has also operated its own VIP air transport capabilities since 1951. Like the rest of the Flotilla, the air wing is a non-military organization and is the direct property of the House of Leidensen. The fleet's fixed-wing aircraft primarily consists of aircraft purchased secondhand from Royal Cryrian Airways, likely in a bid to avoid external scrutiny. The purchased airliners are known to have been reconfigured and heavily modified by Örn AB before entering service with the Flotilla. The House of Leidensen currently maintains four personalized wide-body airliners originally manufactured by Voiture Aérienne for RCA and now used by the Royal Family for international travel. The aircraft are believed to contain many of the amenities found in the oceangoing fleet as well as anti-missile countermeasures designed by Örn AB.

The Flotilla maintains a further two Voiture Aérienne narrow-body airliners for regional travel, which were also purchased from the RCA. It also operates a single Antoran-built U-87/T which was retired from the RCRAF. While the Flotilla's rotary aircraft are more difficult to track, it is believed to operate five Antoran-made H-18 Delfín Rége helicopters that were decommissioned from the Army and another four former-RCRN MH-60Rs, all modified for private use.

Much like the Royal yachts, the Flotilla's air wing has drawn varying degrees of criticism for its obvious excess and environmental impacts.