HMS Princess Royal was a second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built in the 1850s as the lead vessel of her class. She had a length of 217 feet (66.1 meters) on the gundeck and 179 feet 4 inches (54.7 meters) along the keel, with a beam of 58 feet 2 inches (17.7 meters). Her depth of hold measured 24 feet (7.3 meters), and she had a deep draught of 26 feet 6 inches (8.08 meters). The ship's tonnage was approximately 3,130 tons burthen. Constructed at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth, Princess Royal was initially ordered as a 90-gun Albion-class ship, originally named Prince Albert, and laid down in February 1841. Her name was changed to Princess Royal in 1842, and she underwent several reorders before her final design was settled in 1852, incorporating steam power. Launched on 23 June 1853, she was fitted with a horizontal two-cylinder single-expansion steam engine built by Maudslay, Sons and Field, rated at 400 nominal horsepower. The engine produced 1,492 indicated horsepower, enabling a maximum speed of 11 knots. Her armament comprised thirty-two 8-inch (203 mm) shell guns on her lower gundeck, thirty-four 32-pounder guns on the upper gundeck, along with twenty-four 32-pounder guns and a single 68-pounder gun on her forecastle and quarterdeck. Commissioned in October 1853 under Captain Lord Clarence Paget, HMS Princess Royal saw active service during the Crimean War, participating in the Baltic Campaign and the naval bombardment of Sevastopol. She also served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral George St Vincent King on the East Indies and China Station. Notably, in 1865, she transported Sir Harry Smith Parkes to Yokohama, Japan, marking a significant diplomatic mission. Admiral Lord Walter Kerr served aboard her during her deployment to Japan. The vessel was decommissioned and sold for scrap in December 1872, marking the end of her relatively brief but active service life.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.