The “Sovereign of the Seas” was a 17th-century warship of the English Royal Navy. The ship was commissioned in 1634 on the personal initiative of Charles I of England, and it became the most extravagantly decorated warship in the British fleet, completely decorated from stern to bow with gilded carvings. The ship was launched on Oct. 13, 1637, and served from 1638 to 1697, when a fire razed the ship to the waterline at Chatham. However, the money spent on construction contributed to Charles I's financial crisis, which helped lead to the English Civil War. The gilding alone cost as much as the price of an average warship was. The ship carried 102 bronze cannons, making it the most powerful armed ship in the world at the time. The “Sovereign of the Seas” was built not so much for tactical reasons, but as a deliberate attempt to boost the reputation of the English crown. Her name was itself a political statement, as Charles sought to revive the supposed ancient right of English kings to be recognized as the "lords of the seas. Although she was repeatedly occupied by the Dutch in fierce battles, the Sovereign was recaptured each time and remained in service for nearly sixty years as the best ship in the English fleet.
Dimensions (cm): 80L x 19W x 78H
Code: TS0005P-80