Resolution and Sovereign changed in name, armament, displacement, and later rebuilds. Both hulls became larger and more heavily armed over time rather than remaining fixed products of the 1630s. Even the elaborate gilded sterns survived the political shift from monarchy to Commonwealth. The reason was strategic as well as aesthetic: a great warship served as a visible demonstration of state power, whether that state was royal or republican.
Notable Point · 2:03:18-2:06:58
Sovereign and Resolution as rebuilt symbols of state power
The Commonwealth retained, renamed, and rebuilt former royal great ships because their size, endurance, and decoration still advertised the power of the state that controlled them.