HMS Prince was a first rate ship of the line that saw an incredibly long service during which she took many different forms, undergoing several rebuilds.
Launched in 1670, she served as the English flagship during the Third Anglo-Dutch War (this model represents her appearance at this time). At the Battle of Solebay, she was heavily damaged in a two hour duel with the Dutch flagship Zeven Provincien.
Prince was rebuilt in 1692 and renamed Royal William. She was again rebuilt in 1714 and reduced in 1756. She seems to have remained in ordinary until 1813, when she was broken up.
It should be note that the system of “rebuilding” ships was often used as a means to build new ships without alarming Parliament. It wasn’t uncommon for ships to be dismantled and no work begin on them for more than a decade, often with little to no timbers actually from the original ship. Therefore whether the ship that emerged from the dockyard that final time in 1756 truly was HMS Prince is entirely a matter of opinion.
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