HMS ''Princess Charlotte'' was a 104-gun

first-rate In the rating system of the British 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 ...

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 tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, built by

Nicholas Diddams Nicholas Diddams (c.1760–1823) was a Master Shipwright mainly building for the Royal Navy. Life He was born around 1760 the son of Nicholas Diddams (b.1731) and grandson of John Diddams (1687-1766) and his wife Mary Rolfe (1702-1777). He a ...

(but completed after his death) launched on 14 September 1825 at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. The occasion was notable for the fact that the gates of the dry dock into which she was to be placed burst because of the high tide and more than 40 people were drowned. When first ordered in 1812 she was intended to be a

second rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

of 98 guns, but in the general reclassifications of 1817 she was reclassed as a first rate. John Frederick Warre - Very heavy swells causing trouble for ships off a coast

John Frederick Warre - Very heavy swells causing trouble for ships off a coast

From 1837 to 1841 she served as the flagship of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Fleet flying the flag of Vice Admiral Sir

Robert Stopford Robert Wright Stopford, (20 February 1901 – 13 August 1976) was a British Anglican bishop. Early life and education Stopford was born in Garston, Merseyside (then in Lancashire), and educated at Coatham School in Redcar and Liverpool Colle ...

and thus took part in the Syrian War and the bombardment of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

. She had a crew of 738 men. Her commanders included Captain

Robert Devereux Fanshaw The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

from 1837 to 1841 (as flagship to Admiral Sir

) and Sir

Henry George Thomsett Henry George Thomsett (1825-1892) was a British Royal Navy officer and Harbour Master of Hong Kong. Early life Thomsett was born in Dover, Kent in 1825 and joined the Royal Navy in 1840 as an officer in the navigation branch, by 1854 he was the ...

from 1858 to 1861. She became a receiving ship at

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 1858, and was sold in 1875.

Notes

References

* Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Princess Charlotte-class ships of the line Victorian-era ships of the line of the United Kingdom Ships built in Portsmouth 1825 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub