The 'Sovereign of the Seas' Returns to Portsmouth Print

The ‘Sovereign of the Seas’ was the most ornately decorated warship in the history of the British Royal Navy. Ordered in 1634 under King Charles I, ‘Sovereign of the Seas’ was designed as a 90-gun First Rate ship of the line and built by Peter Pett in Woolwich Dockyard. Her total cost of 65,506 Pounds Sterling (circa 10 Million Pounds Sterling today) was believed to be in part responsible for precipitating the financial crisis which led to the English Civil War (1642-51). Her extensive gilded carvings were done by John and Matthias Christmas based on a design by Anthony van Dyck. Upon being launched on October 13, 1637, she was fitted out with 102 bronze cannons. She was laid up during much of the English Civil War and saw no action. In 1650, her name was shortened simply to ‘Sovereign’ as she underwent work to reduce both the amount and weight of her upper works to make her more seaworthy and maneuverable. She emerged from this refit to become flagship of General-at-Sea Robert Blake and would go on to see action in all of the major wars against both the Dutch and French during the 17th Century. The gold-covered carvings earned ‘Sovereign’ the nickname of ‘Golden Devil’ with the Dutch who promised 3,000 guilders’ prize money to the crew of any fire ship which succeeded in destroying her. The first major action in which she participated was the Battle of the Kentish Knock (September 28, 1652) during which she ran aground on the Kentish Knock itself. She was the subject of boarding and fierce hand-to-hand fighting but the English succeeded in defending her from the Dutch. In 1660, she underwent the first of two major re-builds twenty-five years apart at Chatham Dockyard. Again, the main purpose each time was to reduce the weight of her upper decks and improve her ship-handling qualities. Her name was changed once again after the 1660 overhaul to ‘Royal Sovereign.’ In June of 1667, she was fortunate to have been at Portsmouth when the Dutch fleet conducted a bold surprise raid on the Medway and set fire to many Royal Navy ships while they were at anchor in the River Thames estuary. This was a major naval disaster for the English which could have had even more severe consequences. ‘Royal Sovereign’ would later take part in the Nine Years’ War (1688-97) (also called The War of the League of Augsburg or War of the Grand Alliance) against France under the ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV. She was present at the two major naval engagements of this conflict. The first was the Battle of Beachy Head (July 10, 1690) fought off the coast of England near Eastbourne between a combined Anglo-Dutch allied fleet under Admiral Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington against a French fleet under Vice Admiral Anne-Hilarion de Cotentin, Comte de Tourville. ‘Royal Sovereign’ was the fleet flagship of Admiral Herbert, positioned in the Center Division of the Red Squadron. In this battle, the Anglo-Dutch fleet lost six ships of the line and three fire ships while the French lost none. It was a significant tactical victory which left the French in control of the English Channel but Tourville would subsequently be faulted for not having aggressively pursued the Anglo-Dutch fleet back to the River Thames. Herbert, although eventually acquitted in his court martial, was forcibly retired from the navy. The second major engagement consisted of the Battle of Barfleur and the subsequent follow-up actions at Cherbourg and La Hougue (May 29-June 4, 1692). The Anglo-Dutch fleet this time was commanded by Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, with his flag in ‘Britannia’, 100, while the French were still under Tourville’s command with his flag aboard ‘Soleil Royal’, 100. The two fleets sighted one another early on May 29 off Cape Barfleur at the Northern tip of the Cotentin peninsula. A day long battle ensued during which both sides managed to inflict significant damage on the other but without any decisive advantage. As the fight continued into the night, Tourville withdrew his damaged ships toward the French coast and the protection of French forts. Understanding what was happening, the Anglo –Dutch fleet pursued the French at a distance. Some French units, however, became scattered and ended up making their way back separately to the French naval port of Brest on the Atlantic. Some of Tourville’s ships were so badly damaged that they were beached off Cherbourg including his flagship ‘Soleil Royal.’ Twelve damaged French ships of the line sought refuge a little further down the coast at the port of St. Vaast-La Hougue. Aware of the poor condition of the French units, Vice Admiral Sir Ralph Delaval, with his flag aboard ‘Royal Sovereign’, used long boats and fire ships to attack and destroy the French ships which had sought refuge in Cherbourg on June 2. Admiral Russell with the main body of the fleet did the same against the French ships at La Hougue on June 3-4. The loss of 15 French ships of the line at Cherbourg and La Hougue was a decisive victory for the English who no longer had to fear the threat of a French invasion across the Channel. ‘Royal Sovereign’ was by now showing signs of old age and problems with seaworthiness so she was once again laid up at Chatham Dockyard. On January 27, 1697, she perished in a mysterious fire whose exact cause remains unknown to this day.

Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper

Size:10 W x 8 H x 0.1 D in

Size with Frame:15.25 W x 13.25 H x 1.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.