Q&A · 1:15:54-1:17:35

The first Royal Navy ship depends on the definition

A naval-origins question asks which vessel should count as the first Royal Navy ship.

Question

What was the first Royal Navy ship?

Short answer

An early Trinity or Trinity Royal is a plausible answer, but the result changes with the definition of a royal or naval warship.

Notes

An early Trinity or Trinity Royal is a plausible remembered royal warship, although the answer depends on definitions. Recorded Chatham-built royal ships and the later arrival of substantial gun-armed warships make the institutional boundary difficult to draw.