The Royal William (formerly the Prince)
by SWAINE, Francis, Oil on canvas, 71 x 90 cm
The canvas depicts the Royal William (formerly the Prince) flying the flag of an Admiral of the Blue saluting the flagship of a Vice-Admiral of the Red as they pass in the channel.
Designed and built at Chatham under the direction of Sir Phineas Pitt, great nephew of the builder of Charles I’s fabled Sovereign of the Seas, the Prince was one of the three first rates dating from 1670, all of which were laid down to replace the capital ships destroyed or captured by the Dutch during their infamous raid on the Medway in June 1667.