The ''Prince Royal'' was a 55-gun

First rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

warship of the navy of England. It was later rebuilt in 1639-41, and was renamed ''Resolution''in 1649 under the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

. In 1660 at the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

she was renamed again as ''Royal Prince'', and underwent a second rebuilding from 1661 to 1663. She was burnt in action on 3 June 1666 in the

Four Days Battle The Four Days' Battle was a naval engagement fought from 11 to 14 June 1666 (1–4 June O.S.) during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. It began off the Flemish coast and ended near the English coast, and remains one of the longest naval battles in ...

during the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

Design

The ''Prince Royal'' was built by Phineas Pett I at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

and launched in 1610. The ship's fittings were carved by Sebastian Vicars, and painted and gilded by Robert Peake and Paul Isackson between Easter and Michaelmas 1611. Prince Henry took his cousin

Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Frederick Ulrich (German Friedrich Ulrich, 5 April 1591 – 11 August 1634), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1613 until his death. Life Frederick Ulrich was the son of Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel a ...

to see the ship being built. Princess Elizabeth sailed on ''The Prince Royal'' from

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

in April 1613.

Mary Anne Everett Green Mary Anne Everett Green ( Wood; 19 July 1818 – 1 November 1895) was an English historian and archival editor. After establishing a reputation for scholarship with two multi-volume books on royal ladies and noblewomen, she was invited to assis ...

and S. C. Lomas, ''Elizabeth, Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia'' (London, 1909), pp. 66-7. She was the first

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

with three complete gun decks, although when first completed the upper deck carried no guns in the waist, and was stepped down aft because of the large amount of sheer (the manner in which the decks rose towards the stern and bow). In 1621 a refit saw the removal of this step-down, with all three gun decks now being continuous.

Service

From 1639 to 1641 the ''Prince Royal'' was rebuilt by

Peter Pett Peter Pett may refer to: * Peter Pett (shipwright, died 1672) (1610–1672), English master-shipwright at Chatham Dockyard * Peter Pett (shipwright, died 1589) (?–1589), English master-shipwright at Deptford Dockyard * Sir Peter Pett (lawyer) ...

at Woolwich as a 70-gun

first-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

ship. During the time of the

, she was named ''Resolution'' and fought in most battles of the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or First Dutch War, was a naval conflict between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. Largely caused by disputes over trade, it began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast ...

. By 1660 she was carrying 80 guns, and with the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

of King Charles II she resumed the name ''Royal Prince''. In 1663 she was rebuilt again at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

by Sir Phineas Pett II as a 92-gun

ship of the line. In 1665, during the

, she served as the flagship of

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, (27 July 1625 – 28 May 1672), was an English military officer, politician and diplomat from Barnwell, Northamptonshire. During the First English Civil War, he served with the Parliamentarian army, and was ...

at the

Battle of Lowestoft The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the Dutch Republic, United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, at ...

on 3 June. A year later in 1666, she was Vice-Admiral

George Ayscue Admiral Sir George Ayscue (c. 1616 – 5 April 1672) was an English naval officer who served in the English Civil War and the Anglo-Dutch Wars who rose to the rank of Admiral of the White. He also served as Governor of the Isles of Scilly (164 ...

's flagship in the

, on the third day of which (3 June by the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

then used in England) she ran aground on the Galloper Sand. When

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

s surrounded the stranded ship, the crew panicked and Ayscue was forced to surrender to Lieutenant-Admiral

Cornelis Tromp Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, ''Count of Sølvesborg'' (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer who served as lieutenant-admiral general in the Dutch Navy, and briefly as a general admiral in the Royal Danish-Norwegian ...

who was aboard the ''Gouda''. The Dutch managed to free the ship from the shoal, but found her steering to be irreparably damaged. In accordance with standing orders issued by the

States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated i ...

, Lieutenant-Admiral

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...

ordered the ''Prince Royal'' to be burned, to prevent her recapture.

Citations

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Royal (1610) 1610 establishments in England Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships built in Woolwich 1610s ships Maritime incidents in 1666 Ships of the English navy Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales First Anglo-Dutch War Second Anglo-Dutch War

Design

Service

See also

Citations

References

External links