The Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005
The Power and the Glory tells the story of royal fleet reviews from the fifteenth century to the 2005 International Fleet Review, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, which was the final exhibition of that pomp and ceremony that had been an essential if irregular expression of naval strength for more than 500 years. Whether to impress or deter a foreign power, often when mobilizing for war, provide reassurance for domestic consumption or celebrate a sovereign’s accession, royal naval reviews were an integral part of political positioning and national pride.

At these reviews, particularly during the eras of British naval dominance, potential allies or enemies were invited to marvel at British prowess, while the British public could revel in the country’s naval superiority; advances in technology and ship design were showcased, often for commercial benefit, and homage paid to kings and queens at the head of their fleets.

Starting with an examination of the reasons for Britain’s need for and close association with a navy, the author goes on to explain the historical, political and technological context for British fleet reviews from the time of Edward III onwards. The Royal Navy reached its apogee in the extended nineteenth century, and The Power and the Glory examines this period, in particular the aims and ambitions of the nineteen reviews during the reigns of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, and the subsequent twelve under George V, Edward VIII and George VI.

After the Second World War and the Coronation Review of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the Royal Navy entered a long period of almost terminal decline which has been reflected in the lack of royal reviews since 2005. The book examines the reasons for this loss of what had been for centuries the main pillar of British power. Finally, the book looks at the history of the royal yachts, used for conveying monarchs around their shores and fleets, and how they reflected the character of the times.

Political manoeuvring, technological change and the personal stories of many of the naval characters involved are all told with pace and verve, as are the histories of many of the ships involved. The Power and the Glory is a celebration of the Royal Navy and its role in our history, and in particular of its essential importance to the pomp and glory of Britain’s maritime heyday in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
1137777942
The Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005
The Power and the Glory tells the story of royal fleet reviews from the fifteenth century to the 2005 International Fleet Review, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, which was the final exhibition of that pomp and ceremony that had been an essential if irregular expression of naval strength for more than 500 years. Whether to impress or deter a foreign power, often when mobilizing for war, provide reassurance for domestic consumption or celebrate a sovereign’s accession, royal naval reviews were an integral part of political positioning and national pride.

At these reviews, particularly during the eras of British naval dominance, potential allies or enemies were invited to marvel at British prowess, while the British public could revel in the country’s naval superiority; advances in technology and ship design were showcased, often for commercial benefit, and homage paid to kings and queens at the head of their fleets.

Starting with an examination of the reasons for Britain’s need for and close association with a navy, the author goes on to explain the historical, political and technological context for British fleet reviews from the time of Edward III onwards. The Royal Navy reached its apogee in the extended nineteenth century, and The Power and the Glory examines this period, in particular the aims and ambitions of the nineteen reviews during the reigns of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, and the subsequent twelve under George V, Edward VIII and George VI.

After the Second World War and the Coronation Review of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the Royal Navy entered a long period of almost terminal decline which has been reflected in the lack of royal reviews since 2005. The book examines the reasons for this loss of what had been for centuries the main pillar of British power. Finally, the book looks at the history of the royal yachts, used for conveying monarchs around their shores and fleets, and how they reflected the character of the times.

Political manoeuvring, technological change and the personal stories of many of the naval characters involved are all told with pace and verve, as are the histories of many of the ships involved. The Power and the Glory is a celebration of the Royal Navy and its role in our history, and in particular of its essential importance to the pomp and glory of Britain’s maritime heyday in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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The Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005

The Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005

by Steve Dunn
The Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005

The Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005

by Steve Dunn

eBook

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Overview

The Power and the Glory tells the story of royal fleet reviews from the fifteenth century to the 2005 International Fleet Review, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, which was the final exhibition of that pomp and ceremony that had been an essential if irregular expression of naval strength for more than 500 years. Whether to impress or deter a foreign power, often when mobilizing for war, provide reassurance for domestic consumption or celebrate a sovereign’s accession, royal naval reviews were an integral part of political positioning and national pride.

At these reviews, particularly during the eras of British naval dominance, potential allies or enemies were invited to marvel at British prowess, while the British public could revel in the country’s naval superiority; advances in technology and ship design were showcased, often for commercial benefit, and homage paid to kings and queens at the head of their fleets.

Starting with an examination of the reasons for Britain’s need for and close association with a navy, the author goes on to explain the historical, political and technological context for British fleet reviews from the time of Edward III onwards. The Royal Navy reached its apogee in the extended nineteenth century, and The Power and the Glory examines this period, in particular the aims and ambitions of the nineteen reviews during the reigns of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, and the subsequent twelve under George V, Edward VIII and George VI.

After the Second World War and the Coronation Review of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the Royal Navy entered a long period of almost terminal decline which has been reflected in the lack of royal reviews since 2005. The book examines the reasons for this loss of what had been for centuries the main pillar of British power. Finally, the book looks at the history of the royal yachts, used for conveying monarchs around their shores and fleets, and how they reflected the character of the times.

Political manoeuvring, technological change and the personal stories of many of the naval characters involved are all told with pace and verve, as are the histories of many of the ships involved. The Power and the Glory is a celebration of the Royal Navy and its role in our history, and in particular of its essential importance to the pomp and glory of Britain’s maritime heyday in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526769039
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication date: 01/30/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 288
File size: 127 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Steve Dunn is an author with a special interest in the Royal Navy of the late nineteenth century and the First World War. He has written biographies and narrative histories, most recently Blockade and Securing the Narrow Sea, both published by Seaforth. Steve lives in Worcestershire and southwest France.

Table of Contents

Preface 8

Part 1 Beginnings

1 The Sea and Britain 12

2 What is a Royal Fleet Review? 20

3 Frightening the French, 1346-1415 24

4 The Stuarts and the Glorious Revolution, 1662-1714 31

5 The House of Hanover, 1714-1837 41

Part 2 Victorian and Edwardian Pomp

6 Emperors, Kings and Princes, 1842-1845 58

7 Crimean Imbroglio, 1853-1856 73

8 France and Eastern Concerns, 1865-1878 89

9 Golden Years, 1887-1896 108

10 Diamond jubilee, 1897-1901 129

11 Edwardian Splendour, 1902-1910 145

Part 3 Georgian Apotheosis and Decline

12 Countdown to War, 1911-1914 176

13 Finance and Silver jubilee, 1919-1935 191

14 German Revanche, 1936-1944 210

Part 4 The Ebb Tide

15 Decline …, 1945-1977 228

16 … and Fall, 1993-2005 253

17 The Royal Yacht 272

18 Conclusions 281

Envoi 289

List of Royal Fleer Reviews from 1346 to 2005 290

Appendices

1 Ships' Rates, Seventeenth to Nineteenth Century 292

2 Queen Victoria's Navy, 1837 293

3 The Royal Navy Fleet in 1897 294

4 Foreign Navy Ships at the 1897 Diamond Jubilee Review 295

5 Foreign Navy Ships at the 1911 Coronation Review 295

6 Foreign Navy Ships at the 1953 Coronation Review 296

7 Comparison of Royal Navy Fleets, 1953 vs 1977 297

8 Allied Merchant Shipping Losses (All Causes) in the North Atlantic, 1939-1945 297

9 Main Warships at the BA50 1993 Commemoration 298

10 The Decline of the Royal Navy in the 1990s 299

11 Numbers of Vessels at the 2005 'Trafalgar 200' Fleet Review 300

12 21 October 2005 Trafalgar Night Dinner Menu 301

13 Ratio of Naval Expenditure to Foreign Trade in the United Kingdom Self-governing Dominions and India 1907-1908 302

Author's Note 303

Notes 305

Bibliography 310

Index 314

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