Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Prince of Wales, after numerous holders of the title the Prince of Wales, and a seventh ship is under construction:
HMS Prince of Wales (1765) was a 74-gun third-rate launched in 1765. She had been originally planned as HMS Hibernia, but the name was changed prior to launch. She was broken up in 1783.
HMS Prince of Wales (1794) was a 90-gun second-rate launched in 1794 and broken up in 1822.
HMS Prince of Wales (1795) was a 38-gun transport purchased in 1795, and still on the records in 1801.
HMS Prince of Wales (1860) was a 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate launched in 1860. She was converted to a training ship and renamed HMS Britannia in 1869, hulked in 1909 and sold in 1914. She was finally broken up in 1916.
HMS Prince of Wales (1902) was a Formidable-class battleship launched in 1902 and sold for scrap in 1920.
HMS Prince of Wales (53) was a King George V-class battleship launched in 1939 and sunk in a Japanese airstrike in 1941.
HMS Prince of Wales (R09) will be the second of two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and is scheduled to enter service in 2018.
