His or Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship (HMNZS) is the ship prefix used to identify warships and shore facilities commissioned into the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

(RNZN). It derives from "

His Majesty's Ship His (or Her) Majesty's Ship, abbreviated HMS and H.M.S., is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies. Derived terms such as HMAS and equivalents in other languages such as SMS are used. United Kingdom With regard to the se ...

" (HMS) used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The British monarch is also equally and separately the New Zealand head of state. Should the monarch be female, the designation also changes to "Her" rather than "His" Majesty. On 1 October 1941, King George VI fixed his signature to the approval for the Royal New Zealand Navy and from that date all ships officially received the designation.

See also