HMS Princess Royal (1853)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Princess Royal.

HMS Princess Royal
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Princess Royal
BuilderPortsmouth Dockyard
Launched23 June 1853
Commissioned29 October 1853
Decommissioned14 August 1867
Honours and
awards
FateBroken up, 1872
General characteristics
Typesteam line of battle ship
Tons burthen3,129 tons bm
Length217 ft (66 m) o/a
PropulsionSteam engine, 400 hp (300 kW), single screw
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement850
Armament
  • 91 guns:
  • Gundeck: 30 × 56-pounder guns
  • Middle gundeck: 30 × 32-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 30 × 32-pounder guns
  • Fc: 1 × 68-pounder gun

HMS Princess Royal was a 91-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 June 1853 at Portsmouth.[1]

She took part in both the Baltic Campaign and the naval bombardment of Sebastopol during the Crimean War. She later served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral George St Vincent King in his role as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station.

In 1865, Princess Royal conveyed Sir Harry Smith Parkes, accompanied by a detachment of Royal Marines, to the treaty port of Yokohama on his appointment as envoy to Japan. Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Kerr served as a lieutenant on board Princess Royal during the ship's deployment to Japan.[2]

She was broken up in 1872. For more than 30 years, the wooden figurehead of Princess Royal adorned the outer wall of Castle's ship breaking yard at Baltic Wharf, Millbank, London.

Citations and notes

  1. ^ Montagu, Victor (1898). A Middy's Recollections, 1853-1860. London: Adam and Charles Black.
  2. ^ Cortazzi, Hugh (2002). Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Volume 4. London: The Japan Society. p. 293. ISBN 1-903350-14-X.


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