HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' was one of the

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

s of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. She was the largest of his yachts and served from 1804 until she was

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

in 1849.

Design and construction

''Royal Sovereign'' was one of two, the other being ''William and Mary'', ship-rigged

s designed by Sir John Henslow. ''Royal Sovereign'' was ordered in 1800 to be built at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

by Edward Tippett. In March 1803 the master shipwright in charge of construction changed from Tippett to Henry Peake. She was laid down in November 1801 and launched on 12 May 1804 with the following dimensions: along the

gun deck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical prope ...

, at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a depth in the

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (compartment), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called ...

of . She measured 278

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship b ...

. She was armed with eight small

swivel guns A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that ro ...

. She was the largest yacht owned by King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and was known to sail very well at sea.

Service

From 31 August 1812 to 2 April 1814, she was under the command of William Hotham. On 25 June 1814 a

naval review A Naval Review is an event where select vessels and assets of the United States Navy are paraded to be reviewed by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Navy. Due to the geographic distance separating the modern U.S. Na ...

was held at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

to celebrate the Treaty of Paris. The day after the review, the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, and

Emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...

embarked on ''Royal Sovereign'' and led the fifteen

ships 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 tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

and thirty-one frigates present out to sea. The royal party then left ''Royal Sovereign'' to go on board the fleet's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

to witness battle manoeuvres. In October 1824 ''Royal Sovereign'' was used by the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...

for a tour of the fleet at Spithead, where the back-and-forth nature of the ship's sailing forced one warship, the

brig sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...

HMS ''Redwing'', to fire the royal salute seven times. Clarence used the yacht to visit four ships on this occasion. On 19 February 1838 Captain

Samuel Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed more than $27 billion worldwide, making him the hig ...

transferred from the

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 ...

HMS ''Bellerophon'' to take command of ''Royal Sovereign''. He was jointly captain of the yacht and captain-superintendent of

Pembroke Dockyard Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History It was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the George IV of the United Kingdom, Prince Regent s ...

. He stayed in command until he was promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 23 November 1841. ''Royal Sovereign'' was

at Pembroke Dockyard in November 1849.

Citations

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Sovereign 1804 ships Royal yachts of the United Kingdom