HMS Royal Charles (1673)

History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameRoyal Charles
Ordered26 April 1671
BuilderAnthony Deane and Daniel Furzer, Portsmouth Dockyard
LaunchedMarch 1673
CommissionedFebruary 1673
Renamed
  • Queen, 27 January 1693
  • Royal George, 9 September 1715
  • Royal Anne, 1756
FateBroken up, 1767
General characteristics as built[1]
Class and type100-gun first-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1443 (bm)
Length136 ft (41 m) (keel)
Beam44 ft 8 in (13.61 m)
Depth of hold18 ft 3 in (5.56 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament100 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1693 rebuild[2]
Class and type100-gun first-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1657 9294 (bm)
Length170 ft 6 in (51.97 m) (gundeck)
Beam47 ft 7 in (14.50 m)
Depth of hold18 ft (5.5 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament100 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics after 1715 rebuild[2]
Class and type100-gun first-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen1800 8494 (bm)
Length171 ft 9 in (52.35 m) (gundeck)
Beam49 ft 3 in (15.01 m)
Depth of hold19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Armament100 guns of various weights of shot

HMS Royal Charles was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed and built by Sir Anthony Deane at Portsmouth Dockyard, where she was launched and completed by his successor as Master Shipwright, Daniel Furzer, in March 1673.[1] She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun.[3]

She was Prince Rupert of the Rhine's flagship at the battles of Schooneveld; two naval battles of the Franco-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on 7 June and 14 June 1673 against the fleet of the United Provinces, commanded by Michiel de Ruyter.[4]

She was rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard between 1691 and 1693, and renamed HMS Queen on 27 January 1693. The Queen became the flagship of Sir George Rooke and was captained by James Wishart.[5] She was rebuilt for a second time at Woolwich, relaunching on 20 September 1715, and renamed once more, this time as HMS Royal George.[2]

The much-rebuilt Royal George was renamed HMS Royal Anne in 1756, and was broken up in 1767.[2]

  1. ^ a b Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p161.
  2. ^ a b c d Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p165.
  3. ^ Spencer, p.351; Endsor, p.9.
  4. ^ Clowes, William Laird (1897). The royal navy - a history from the earliest times to the present (1897) (Vol. 2 of 5 ed.). Sampson Low, Marston and Company. pp. 310–311. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  5. ^ J. D. Davies, ‘Wishart, Sir James (c.1659–1723)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 9 Dec 2012