A medieval English navy could mean the country's merchant shipping, a wine fleet, a convoy, or the ships assembled for one expedition. This differed from the permanently maintained war galleys of Venice. A king's ship could be a royal possession, a vessel in which the king held shares, or a privately owned ship chartered or compelled into service. Towns built ships under different financial arrangements, so a royal construction order does not always establish royal ownership. Royal vessels also carried wine and wool when available for trade. Henry V was unusual in having something closer to a standing royal fleet.
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What a medieval English navy actually meant
The medieval word navy usually meant a body of shipping rather than a permanent fighting service, while royal operations depended heavily on requisitioned merchant vessels.