Royal ship?

[TopHat]

Hi!

I have a royal prince who has his own ship, but I don't know what kind of ship a prince is supposed to have? He uses it for exploration and it should be able to engage in battle if necessary. What kind of ship would fit this description?

 

[Edankyn]

The answer is going to be largely dependent on the technological advances in your world. It sounds like you're probably looking for a galleon or something of the sort, but those didn't originate until around the 16th century. This website Complete list of Ship Types provides a fairly comprehensive list of ships that have been used throughout history and might be of use in your search.

 

[Fluffypoodel]

Balanghai, Borobudur, Phoenicia and the Morgan: Reconstructing and celebrating our ancient maritime heritage | ScienceBlog.com

I found this to be a pretty cool comparison between Zheng He's ship and Christopher Columbus' ship.

 

[skip.knox]

In purely European medieval terms, a royal prince wouldn't have his own ship. Monarchs generally didn't have navies, they simply requisitioned merchant ships and converted them. Nobody did free-form exploring, certainly not by ship. Why? Because sailing was *dangerous* and people didn't sail out of sight of known landmarks unless forced to do so by circumstances.

If your story breaks the norms, though, you can have your prince have any sort of boat your story requires. In that case, I'd say figure out why the story needs a ship and design the ship accordingly. Then invent reasons why it is the way it is.

 

[Kn'Trac]

I think that would depend on the naval tradition of his country.

If they have a strong navy, that ship could very well be anything from a simple caravel to a galleon, especially if the Prince also has a commission in the navy.
OR
It could be a yacht to parade in on the river running through the city, something very formal.

 

[TopHat]

Thanks!
You guys have given me a lot of ideas!

 

[Addison]

The name of the ship could change depending on which country the prince is from. The viking's had different ships than the french who were different from the spanish etc.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

My thought is that you need to determine your ship according to its purpose. Royal ships come in all shapes and sizes. From the cruise liners designed to ferry royalty from one country to another - think the Queen Mary, to the impressive royal barges of Cina and ancient Egypt which were basically huge status symbols for holding parties and displaying vast wealth.

But what you want is not really a royal ship at all. If it's purpose is exploration, then you want something with a lot of sail (if it's a yacht of some sort) for speed, and able to defend itself, but probably not a front line battleship since they weigh too much with all their cannon etc (assuming they have cannon). My guess would be a frigate as a good compromise.

However as has been said princes don't generally have their own warships. And certainly not the ones directly in line who really can't afford to be lost. A third son maybe, in service with the royal navy as a commander / captain of a naval vessel makes more sense.

Cheers, Greg.