HMS Sovereign of the Seas

Sovereign of the Seas

H.M.S. Sovereign of the Seas, launched in 1637, was the most powerfully armed ship in the world in its day. It was originally going to have 90 guns, but King Charles I personally insisted that a "great ship" be built for the English Royal Navy, so it went to sea with 102 bronze guns. The vessel was the most extravagantly decorated warship in the Royal Navy, completely adorned from stern to bow with gilded carvings. The ship was later renamed Sovereign and then Royal Sovereign. It was destroyed by fire in 1697 in Chatham.