The 412ft vessel, modified to highlight its royal past at a cost of �2.5m, opens to the public on Monday.

Britannia's large drawing room

The ship's General Manager, Bob Downie, has been giving the media a preview of the vessel, now moored in the Edinburgh port of Leith.

He said: "This is an historically symbolic day for Leith, Edinburgh and indeed Scotland.

The BBC's Colin Blane takes a tour of the Britannia

"It represents the culmination of a tremendous effort by a superb team of contractors, consultants and my own team who have been working around the clock, seven days a week, to ensure that Britannia has been restored to her former glory.

Most of the ship's furniture has been retained

"It has been a hard slog but I am sure that everyone will be delighted with the results of our work and I look forward to welcoming them on board."

More than 95% of the royal collection is still on board.

Visitors can tour all areas of the ship from the galleys to the state dining room, set up in preparation for a formal evening dinner.

Queen's bedroom closed

The public will not be allowed to enter the Queen's and the Duke of Edinburgh's bedrooms, but visitors can view them through glass panelling.

The Queen's bedroom has been left as it was

Mr Downie said: "People will be able to see it exactly as it was."

Former Britannia employee Stephen Hutton, 30, a leading hand electrical engineer on the yacht, said it felt strange to be able to wander freely through the royal apartments.

Commodore Royal Yachts, Anthony Morrow, who commanded Britannia for her last three years, said: "When you have served in the Royal Navy and you see the end of a ship you feel very sad about it.

"This ship is so well known right across the world and to see her coming out of service is of course sad, but we have to move on."