Built as a wooden ship rigged royal yacht by the Deptford Dry-dock at Deptford, designed by Sir John Henslow.
1800 Ordered.
November 1801 keel laid down.
12 May 1804 launched as the HMY ROYAL SOVEREIGN.
Tonnage 278 ton (bm), dim, L (keel) 24.51 m, L (gun deck) 29.26 m, B 7.77 m, depth 3.20 m.
Armament: 8 - ½pdr. swivels.
Three masted, full rigged ship.
Crew 67.
21 August 1804 completed.
June 1804 commissioned under command of Sir Harry Burrard Neale.
She is known as one of the best royal yachts. Rich decorations were attached to its hull, including gilded medallions with figures symbolizing the four cardinal virtues, and to the stern was Neptune on his chariot, surrounded by dolphins. The figurehead was the bust of Queen Charlotte. The stern saloon was panelled in mahogany and lined with gold-bordered damask, and the royal coat of arms was mounted above a large mirror. King George III used the yacht regularly for trips to Weymouth, his favourite resort. On this ship under the command of Edward Berry (Nelson's Chief of Staff in the Battle of Abukir) the French. KING LOUIS XVIII in April 1814 sailed from Dover to Calais, (after Napoleon's abdication) from exile in England to ascend to the throne in France.
Used as a flagship by the Duke of Clarence in 1827 in his capacity as Lord High Admiral. Depot ship in Pembroke from around 1833, broken up there from November 1849.
The downgrading of the "ROYAL SOVEREIGN" from a yacht to a depot ship (together with two other yachts) is said to have taken place as a result of attacks by Joseph Hume, a radical politician who denounced the simultaneous maintenance of several yachts as a waste of state money.
Source: British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817- 1863 by Rif Winfield. Logbook and Navicula
Nevis 1981 $2 sg 74, scott?