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The Queen will cruise from La Paz to San Diego aboard her yacht. H.M.Y. Britannia is nothing less than a floating palace. At 412 ft. long, it is half the length of the QE2. It has the chintz-covered drawing room of a grand country house, a swimming pool, ballroom, chapel, theater and elegantly appointed bedroom suites—the Queen's with rosebud curtains, the Prince's in a more austere navy style. This ship is not for the frugal: it burns a ton of oil every seven miles. The ship's 26 officers and 254 crewmen all give their orders in stage whispers so as not to disturb the royal repose.
On their five-day cruise from Mexico, the Queen and Prince Philip will be resting up not for such ineffable California experiences as sunset over a traffic jam on the San Diego Freeway, but for a numbing schedule of dinners and plaque dedications. It is not easy being royal, but they can be expected to remain courteous and resolutely interested in the midst of celebrity crush and media uproar.
Next Sunday they will fly from San Diego to Palm Springs to have lunch at the desert estate of former U.S. Ambassador to Britain Walter Annenberg. In San Francisco, they will sip champagne while listening to Tony Bennett (a royal favorite) croon where he left his heart and Mary Martin trill Getting to Know You (which she already does). They will also make a side trip to the Reagan ranch, near Santa Barbara, for barbecue ribs and riding—English-style for the Queen and hopalong Ron, western for Nancy. The Queen and Philip will help the Reagans celebrate their 31st wedding anniversary with an elegant candlelit dinner for 56 aboard the Britannia.
But the "biggie," as they say in Hollywood argot, will be the banquet for 500 thrown by Nancy Reagan. The dinner will be held at 20th Century-Fox on sound stage No. 9, recently vacated by the cast of M*A*S*H (see VIDEO). A western theme and a Main Street, U.S.A., motif were rejected as insufficiently classy. Instead the set will be decked out with bucolic backdrops and a large central fountain to give the atmosphere of a park. The dinner is considered informal. In California that can mean décolletage and gold chains for the men and metallic spandex pants for the women, so White House Social Secretary Muffie Brandon passed along subtle hints to the local press suggesting that long dresses and ties are more appropriate. The "old guard" will reign that night as Jimmy Stewart, Gary Grant and Frank Sinatra make up the Hollywood royalty in attendance.
The Queen and Prince Philip will spend much of their time on more serious excursions. Philip is fascinated by technology, and they will visit the Rockwell International plant in Los Angeles, where the Queen could take a giddy ride in the shuttle flight simulator. In Cupertino, unofficial capital of Silicon Valley, they will tour the Hewlett-Packard plant and watch white-suited workers make micro chips. In San Diego, while the Queen peruses the Old Globe Theater, Philip will talk to the animals at the city's famed zoo. In order to ensure that the caged beasts growl for the Prince, their lunch that day will be postponed.