What happened to the Tuxedo Princess and Royale, Gateshead and Teesside’s floating ship night clubs?

Once an iconic feature of the Tyneside, the Tuxedo Royale and Princess were former ferrys that were converted into floating night clubs moored on the Riverside at Gateshead next to where the sage is now.

The ships, hosted on the River at different periods and interchanged several times, were also used on the River Clyde in Glasgow and the River Tees at Middlesbrough. The Princess was primarily based on Tyneside and the Royale on Teesside.

Both ships were built in the early 1960s and were in service as ferries up until 1981. The Tuxedo Princess was originally called The Caledonian Princess, signifying its use for Scotland. Whereas the Royale had a more simplistic name, The Dover and was used to cross the English channel.

Having been purchased and renamed by local businessman Michael Quadrini, he planned to place the Tuxedo Princess on the Newcastle Quayside, but having failed to get promotion he placed her in Gateshead. The ship was first opened in 1983 as a club, with the staff dressed in naval uniforms.

The ships hosted a wide variety of bars and restaurants, and also hosted many celebrities throughout their lifespan including Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kevin Costner, Noel Edmonds, Freddie Starr, Mick Hucknall, Rick Astley, Nik Kershaw, Jason Donovan, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the cast of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Daley Thompson, Ian Botham, Wasim Akram, Kevin Keegan and Paul Gascoigne, and snooker player Steve Davis.

What happened to the Tuxedo Princess and Royale?

Over time, the quality and appeal of the ships faded as they aged, with people increasingly calling them an eyesore. Thus in 2007, the decision was made to scrap the Tuxedo Princess in Gateshead. Following a farewell party with 300 special invited guests, the ship was toed away to Turkey where it was scrapped.

Meanwhile, the Tuxedo Royale, based in Middlesbrough, deteriorated. In 2011, metal thieves stole plating from the ship and it began to sink. Despite a campaign to try and raise money to fix it, the ship was damaged further by 2017, leaving it in a vastly deteriorated state. At this point a decision was made to scrap it on Teesside itself, and thus it was taken to Hartlepool and dismantled.