HMY Victoria and Albert (1855)

For other ships with the same name, see HMY Victoria and Albert.

A painting of HMY Victoria and Albert by William Frederick Mitchell
History
United Kingdom
NameVictoria and Albert
NamesakeQueen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort
Launched16 January 1855
FateScrapped, c.1904
General characteristics
TypeRoyal yacht
Displacement2,390 long tons (2,430 t) when deep
Length360 ft (110 m)
Beam40 ft (12 m)
Installed power2,400 ihp (1,800 kW)[1]
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement240

HMY Victoria and Albert, a 360-foot (110 m) steamer launched on 16 January 1855, was a royal yacht of the sovereign of the United Kingdom until 1900, owned and operated by the Royal Navy. She displaced 2,390 tons,[1] and could make 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) on her paddles. There were 240 crew.

Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Abdulaziz, emperor of the Ottoman Empire, on the Royal yacht during the Sultan's official visit, 1867, by George Housman Thomas, depicting the Sultan's official visit to United Kingdom.

Career

Queen Victoria made her first cruise in her on 12 July 1855.[1] On 3 June 1859, Victoria and Albert ran aground in the Scheldt whilst on a voyage from Gravesend, Kent to Antwerp, Belgium.[2]

Queen Victoria lent the ship to Empress Elisabeth of Austria for her cruise to Madeira in 1860.[3]

The ship was used by Prince Arthur on the occasion of his visit to Heligoland in 1872.[4]

Queen Victoria sent the ship to Vlissingen to ferry Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Germany accompanied by his wife Victoria, their three youngest daughters, Professor Gerhardt, two court officials and two ladies-in-waiting across the Channel to be treated of his throat illness in England by Dr. Mackenzie. They alighted in Sheerness on 15 June 1887.[5]

Victoria and Albert was replaced by HMY Victoria and Albert (1899) in 1901 and scrapped in about 1904.

El Mahrousa was built to the same specifications for Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt in 1865 and survives today, although heavily altered.

Notable commanding officers

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Griffith, Mrs. M. (1894). "Queen Victoria's Yacht The Victoria and Albert". The Strand Magazine – via Digital History Project.
  2. ^ "Her Majesty's Yacht Ashore". The Times. No. 23325. London. 6 June 1859. col E, p. 10.
  3. ^ Leben und Legende einer Kaiserin
  4. ^ Rüger, p. 68.
  5. ^ Röhl, p. 654.
  6. ^ The Navy List (1891), p. 264.
  7. ^ Gagan, David (1973). The Denison Family of Toronto: 1792–1925. University of Toronto Press. p. 42. ISBN 9781487597368.

References

  • Rüger, Jan (2017). Heligoland: Britain, Germany and the Struggle for the North Sea. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-967246-2.
  • Röhl, John (2015). Young Wilhelm, the Kaiser's Early Life 1859-1888. Cambtidge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-565968.
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