Luxury yacht Christina O moored at Chatham Docks up for sale for £21million
00:01, 03 July 2013
Its luxurious floors once bore the feet of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and singer Maria Callas.
Now a luxury yacht that has found a temporary home in Chatham Docks is up for sale... for a cool £21 million.
The 300ft vessel - once owned by the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis - has a long guest list reading like a who's who of high society.
John F. Kennedy and Sir Winston Churchill are among the politicians to have graced its sumptuous suites and bars.
It has been the site of tempestuous love affairs and high power meetings of the world's elite.
Frank Sinatra played the piano onboard and Churchill and Kennedy first met on its decks.
It is used to adorning the sun-kissed waters of Monte Carlo or the French Riviera, but for the past few months it has called the choppy waters of the River Medway home.
It is moored at Chatham Docks, in a berth owned by Total Ship Services.
But what can you get for your money? Features include a restaurant offering Michelin star cuisine, a swimming pool that converts to a dancefloor, a library, music lounge and spa.
As our exclusive pictures show, every room oozes opulence and grandeur.
One of the first sights that greets you is a mosaic of tiles that ushers you up the gold-trimmed stairs.
The air is heavy with a quite intangible smell. It's not quite that aroma you pick up when you disturb a dust-ridden cupboard, but close.
Its bar has a feature you're unlikely to find in any other: the leather on the stools is made out of whale foreskin.
Like a classic sports car it might lack some of today's mod cons, but its class has survived the passage of time.
The yacht started life as a Canadian frigate called HMCS Stormont and saw action in the D-Day landings.
It was acquired by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis after the Second World War.
He changed its name to Christina, after his daughter, and set about spending a small fortune converting it into a vessel that oozed opulence and grandeur.
Upon his death in 1975, Mr Onassis bequeathed the yacht to his daughter, who in turn donated it to the Greek government.
It was rechristened Argo, but fell into a state of decay.
In 1998 it was bought by a Greek shipowner, John Paul Papanicolaou, who had sailed on Christina as a child.
He changed her name to Christina O in tribute to Mr Onassis.
A major refurbishment costing more than £30 million restored her to her former glory and she is now owned by an Irish consortium.
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