.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Royal Caroline, principal yacht to King George II and named in honour of his wife Caroline (of Ansbach), was built at Deptford by Mr. J. Allin in 1749. Designed as a sixth-rate mounting 10-3pdrs. and 8-pdr. swivel guns, she was measured at 232 tons burden with a 90 foot gundeck and a 24 foot beam. The largest royal yacht to date and the only such vessel to exceed 200 tons until Royal Sovereign was launched in 1804, she was one of the most sumptuously decorated vessels ever constructed and her full ship rig required a crew of 70 men to handle. She was also a uniquely important link in the development of fast sailing vessels for the Royal Navy and her hull lines, inherited from the last years of the seventeenth century, were scaled up for some of the new frigates and sloops of the 1750s whilst her design was being re-used as late as 1804. Quite apart from her many other duties, George II's frequent visits to Hanover meant that she was in constant use ferrying him to and from the continent and she remained a firm favourite with the King until his death in 1760.
When the new King George III chose Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg to be his Queen, Royal Caroline was renamed Royal Charlotte in her honour and in consequence was selected as the obvious vessel to convey the new bride to England. A flotilla under the command of Admiral Lord Anson and consisting of four other royal yachts escorted by six ships-of-war sailed from Harwich on 7th August 1761 and embarked the future queen and her ladies at the north German town of Stade on the 28th. The homeward journey was beset by bad weather and when the little fleet eventually made Harwich safely on 6th September, it had weathered three severe storms and been almost wrecked on the shores of Norway on more than one occasion.
After the Princess Augusta was launched in 1771, Royal Charlotte lost her place as the most favoured royal yacht but continued in service, her duties actually increasing as George III's children grew into adulthood and greater independence. In October 1797, Royal Charlotte reverted briefly to her former pre-eminence by taking the King down to the Nore to visit the fleet after its victory at Camperdown although the actual review had to be abandoned due to adverse weather. This proved her last ceremonial outing and other than carrying the King on the occasional holiday trip to Weymouth during 1801-04, she was mostly laid up at Deptford due to the prevailing war with France and finally broken up in 1820.
When the new King George III chose Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg to be his Queen, Royal Caroline was renamed Royal Charlotte in her honour and in consequence was selected as the obvious vessel to convey the new bride to England. A flotilla under the command of Admiral Lord Anson and consisting of four other royal yachts escorted by six ships-of-war sailed from Harwich on 7th August 1761 and embarked the future queen and her ladies at the north German town of Stade on the 28th. The homeward journey was beset by bad weather and when the little fleet eventually made Harwich safely on 6th September, it had weathered three severe storms and been almost wrecked on the shores of Norway on more than one occasion.
After the Princess Augusta was launched in 1771, Royal Charlotte lost her place as the most favoured royal yacht but continued in service, her duties actually increasing as George III's children grew into adulthood and greater independence. In October 1797, Royal Charlotte reverted briefly to her former pre-eminence by taking the King down to the Nore to visit the fleet after its victory at Camperdown although the actual review had to be abandoned due to adverse weather. This proved her last ceremonial outing and other than carrying the King on the occasional holiday trip to Weymouth during 1801-04, she was mostly laid up at Deptford due to the prevailing war with France and finally broken up in 1820.