HMY ''Royal Escape'' was a

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 ...

owned by King Charles II. She was the former collier ''Surprise'' that had carried the king across the Channel to safety. King Charles took passage on ''Surprise'' after the defeat of the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause in 1651, narrowly avoiding pursuing Parliamentarian forces. He arrived safely in France, where he lived in exile until the Restoration in 1660. On his return Charles purchased the ship he had travelled on, naming her after his escape from England nearly a decade before. He kept her moored close to his palace, showing her to visitors. The ship remained on the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

s for many years, being sold finally in 1750, although several other vessels continued the name until 1877.

King Charles's escape

After the

defeat at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

on 3 September 1651 King Charles II escaped and fled from the Parliamentarian forces who had orders to arrest him. He travelled eventually to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, where he met the captain of a collier, Nicholas Tettersell, and arranged passage to France. Tettersell was the only person who was to know Charles's identity; the crew were told that the passengers were merchants fleeing their creditors. Tettersell agreed to make the passage, and safely landed the royal party at Fécamp on his ship, the ''Surprise''.

Return

Charles remained fond of the ship that had helped his escape, and on his return to England at the Restoration in 1660, purchased her, renaming her ''Royal Escape''. Charles had her moored in the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

off the

Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

, where he would show her off to other royalty. She was entered on the

as a smack, long, with a beam of , and drawing . She was retained on the navy lists for a number of years, being rebuilt in 1714 and 1736 as a transport. She was sold in 1750, though the name was perpetuated when a previously unnamed mooring

lighter A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typic ...

was renamed ''Royal Escape'' in 1749. This later craft was broken up in 1791, and a new ''Royal Escape'' was launched in 1792. This vessel, a transport, was broken up in 1877.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Escape Royal yachts of the Kingdom of England Ships of England Charles II of England