HMS ''Prince of Wales'' was a 98-gun

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 gun ...

ship of the line 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 ...

, launched on 28 June 1794 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 ...

. In the spring of 1795, she served as the flagship of Admiral

Henry Harvey Admiral Sir Henry Harvey KB (Bef. 4 Aug 1737 – 28 December 1810) was a long-serving officer of the British Royal Navy during the second half of the eighteenth century. Harvey participated in numerous naval operations and actions and espec ...

who commanded a squadron in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and later participated in the

Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...

in 1795. ''Prince of Wales'' served as the flagship of Admiral

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career ...

at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805. She was not present at Trafalgar. In consequence of the strong feeling against him for his conduct at Cape Finisterre, Calder had demanded a court-martial.

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

was ordered to send Calder home, and allowed him to return in his own flagship, even though battle was imminent. Calder left in early October 1805, missing the battle. ''Prince of Wales'' was broken up in December 1822.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Winfield, Rif (2007) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates''. Seaforth Publishing. .

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Boyne-class ships of the line (1790) 1794 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub