Princess Royal (East Indiaman)

Last updated March 14, 2023

Four vessels with the name Princess Royal have served the British East India Company (EIC).

Princess Royal (1733 EIC ship), of 470-90 or 54128⁄94 tons (bm), was launched on the River Thames in 1733. She made two voyages for the EIC, one to Madras and Bengal, and the other to China, between 1734 and 1739.^[1] On 21 November 1739 her owners sold her to the Admiralty, which converted her to a hospital ship. In 1743 the Navy converted her to a storeship, and in 1750 sold her.^[2]^[3] She was captained by Duncan Backwell and held 94/98 crew.^[1]
Princess Royal (1769 Indiaman), of 87839⁄94 tons (bm), was launched on 14 November 1769 by Wells, Deptford.^[2] The owner of the vessel, Alexander Hume, was on both voyages to China for the East India Trading Company.^[3] She made four trips to India, the East Indies, and China for the EIC.^[4] She was sold in 1782 for breaking up.^[2]
Princess Royal (1786 EIC ship) was launched in 1786. She made two voyages to India for the EIC. On her third voyage, in 1793, this one to China, the French captured her and used her in the Indian Ocean as the frigate Duguay Tourin. The British recaptured her within a year and she returned to mercantile service. She made one more voyage for the EIC, this one in 1797-98, from Bombay back to England. In 1799 a French privateer captured her and she then disappears from the records.
Princess Royal (1794 ship) was launched in 1794 and made one voyage for the EIC to Madras and Bengal between 1797 and 1798 as an extra ship.^[5]
Princess Royal was building at Northfleet for the EIC when the Royal Navy purchased her on the stocks and launched her in 1796 as HMS Ardent. She served the navy, taking part in several two major battles; she was broken up at Bermuda in 1824.

Citations

1 2 British Library: Princess Royal (1).
1 2 3 Hackman (2001), p.179.
1 2 "The East Indiaman 'Princess Royal' | Royal Museums Greenwich". www.rmg.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
↑ British Library: Princess Royal (2).
↑ British Library: Princess Royal (4).

Related Research Articles

Britannia may refer to any one of a large number of ships:

Hindostan was an East Indiaman of the East India Company. She was a large vessel of 1,463 tons (bm), launched in 1796 to replace a previous Hindostan that the Royal Navy had bought and turned into a Fourth Rate ship of the line. Her owner was Robert Williams, M.P., who had been the owner of the previous Hindostan.

Several vessels have been named Thames, for the River Thames:

A number of vessels have been named Alexander:

A number of ships have been named Friendship:

At least seven ships with the name Kent served the Honourable East India Company as an East Indiaman between 1680 and 1825:

At least six ships with the name Queen served the Honourable East India Company between 1701 and 1839. Most were East Indiamen:

Numerous ships with the name Phoenix, for the constellation or the mythical bird, have sailed for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1680 and 1821:

Six vessels with the name Royal George made voyages for the British East India Company, and so may be referred to as East Indiamen. The company actually owned one, four were on long-term charter, and one was a one-voyage charter. The vessels were named in honour of one or more of the British kings whose name was George.

Princess Royal, launched in 1786, was an East Indiaman. She made two complete trips to India for the British East India Company (EIC) and was on her third trip, this one to China, when French privateers or warships captured her on 27 September 1793. The French Navy took her into service in the Indian Ocean as a 34-gun frigate under the name Duguay Trouin. The Royal Navy recaptured her and she returned to British merchant service. In 1797 she performed one more voyage for the EIC. She received a letter of marque in July 1798 but was captured in October 1799 off the coast of Sumatra.

Two vessels with the name Pigot have served the British East India Company (EIC).

Several vessels have been named Harriet, or Harriot:

Numerous vessels have borne the name Fame:

Several ships have borne the name Caledonia for Caledonia:

Princess Amelia was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made four voyages to India for the EIC and was lost in April 1798 to a fire off the Malabar Coast.

Dublin was launched in 1784 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), to India and China. On her last voyage for the EIC she recaptured a country ship. Her owners sold Dublin in 1800 and she became a West Indiaman, but apparently was lost on her first voyage.

Several vessels have been named Princess Charlotte for one of the many Princesses Charlotte:

Tartar was built in France in 1778, almost surely under another name. She was taken in prize and appears under British ownership in 1780. After a short career as a privateer, she made a voyage between 1781 and 1783 as an extra East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler in the northern whale fishery. After whaling she traded with the Baltic and then served as a London-based transport. She was probably lost in 1799, and was last listed in 1801. If Tartar is the vessel lost in 1799, in 1796 French warships captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her.

Several ships have been named Thetis for Thetis:

References

Hackman, Rowan (2001) Ships of the East India Company. (Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society). ISBN 0-905617-96-7

This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists.

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[:1-1] 1 2 British Library: Princess Royal (1).

[Hackman-2] 1 2 3 Hackman (2001), p.179.

[:0-3] 1 2 "The East Indiaman 'Princess Royal' | Royal Museums Greenwich". www.rmg.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2023.

[4] British Library: Princess Royal (2).

[5] British Library: Princess Royal (4).

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