Prince Royal entered service in 1610 as a 55-gun royal ship, became a 70-gun ship, and eventually a 92-gun first rate, with major rebuilds roughly a generation apart. Her dimensions and tonnage grew with her armament: the final keel length reached 132 feet, while beam increased from 43 feet 6 inches to 45 feet 2 inches. Hold depth rose from 18 feet to 18 feet 10 inches. Repeated structural renewal complicates any simple comparison between the apparent lifespan of a wooden warship and a modern one. Across the fleet, intensive Caribbean service and transatlantic work also increased maintenance demands, while assignments depended on the ships actually available.
Notable Point · 36:00-40:55
Prince Royal grew through repeated rebuilds
Prince Royal's successive rebuilds increased her guns and dimensions while illustrating how deployment conditions shaped wooden-warship service lives.