Our Royal Fleet
26th August 2026 by | Uncategorized
Did you watch The Tudors with Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman last night?
It was entertaining, but—as so often happens with television history—the facts were not presented quite accurately.
The programme suggested that Elizabeth I had no navy or ships of her own when the Spanish Armada threatened England in 1588, forcing her to turn to wealthy merchants for vessels.
It is true that privately owned ships, armed merchant vessels and privateers were called upon to reinforce England’s defences—but Elizabeth certainly did not have ‘no navy’.
Henry VIII had transformed England’s naval power. He established permanent royal dockyards and the Navy Board, developing the small fleet he inherited into more than 40 royal ships by the time of his death in 1547. Some estimates place the total even higher, depending upon which vessels are included.
In 1588, Elizabeth’s Royal Fleet consisted of approximately 34 warships, including around 21 galleons. These were joined by roughly 160 privately owned vessels to create the much larger fleet that confronted the Spanish Armada.
Five of our main Royal fleet were:
· Ark Royal – flagship of Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral and commander of the English fleet.
· Revenge – commanded by Sir Francis Drake, Vice-Admiral.
· Victory – commanded by Sir John Hawkins, Rear-Admiral.
· Triumph – commanded by Sir Martin Frobisher; the largest English ship involved.
· Rainbow – flagship of Lord Henry Seymour, who commanded the squadron guarding the Channel and the approaches from the Netherlands.
The merchants made an enormously important contribution and took considerable personal and financial risks—but they reinforced an existing Royal Navy. They did not create one from nothing.
Television history should entertain, but it should not sacrifice important facts for the sake of a more dramatic story.
Author & British Historian
Member of The Norfolk Archaeological Trust
www.murderinthetower.london
Please sign our DNA petition for research into the two York princes
#TheTudors #ElizabethI #HenryVIII #SpanishArmada #RoyalNavy #TudorHistory #HistoryMatters