The Royal Charles on sunlite waters

Built in Woolwich dockyard, England in 1655, Royal Charles was flagship of the Duke of York during the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665. After a battle against the Dutch ship Eendracht on June 13, the ship was so damaged that the Duke of York shifted his flag to the Saint Michael and later still the James. Royal Charles was used still in other battles against the Dutch in 1666. In the spring of 1697, the English treasury was exhausted so Charles II decided to lay up his fleet. Seeing their opportunity, the Dutch fleet attacked fort. Over the course of three days, twenty-three ships were lost, most intentionally sunk by the English and then burned by the Dutch. Orders were given to burn the Royal Charles, but at the approach of a Dutch boat from the Bescherming, the crew fled. Incompatible with the needs of the Dutch fleet, Royal Charles never fought again and the Dutch displayed her at Rotterdam as a war trophy. She was auctioned and broken up in 1673, during the third Anglo-Dutch War.