Shortly after midnight on July 1, 1997, Prince Charles and Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, marked the end of 156 years of British rule when they boarded the royal yacht Britannia and sailed out of the Victoria harbour.
They embarked at Tamar, a short distance from the historic Queen’s Pier where Mr Patten landed upon taking up his post in 1992. It was a long-held tradition for British governors, and visiting royalty including Queen Elizabeth, to land formally at the pier upon arrival.
