HMS Queen was a 110-gun first rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, launched on 15 May 1839 at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

. She was initially ordered in 1827 under the name Royal Frederick, but was renamed on 12 April 1839 while still on the stocks in honour of the recently enthroned Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

. She was originally ordered as the final ship of the Broadened Caledonia class

Caledonia class ship of the line

The Caledonia-class ships of the line were a class of nine 120-gun first rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Rule. A tenth ship was ordered on 29 October 1827 to the same design, but was launched in 1833 as the Queen to a fresh design by Sir William Symonds.The armament remained the...

, but on 3 September 1833 she was re-ordered to a new design by Sir William Symonds

William Symonds

Sir William Symonds FRS was "Surveyor of the Navy" in the Royal Navy from 9 June 1832 to October 1847, and took part in the naval reforms instituted by the Whig First Lord of the Admiralty Sir James Robert George Graham in 1832.-Early life:He was the second son...

.

This was the only ship completed to this Symonds draught, although three other sisters were originally ordered to the same design; of these a ship originally ordered at Portsmouth Dockyard on 12 September 1833 as the Royal Sovereign took over the name Royal Frederick on 12 April 1839, and was eventually completed as a screw battleship under the name of Frederick William. Of the remaining two intended sisterships, both ordered from Pembroke Dockyard on 3 October 1833, the Algiers was eventually completed as a 90-gun screw battleship, while the Victoria was eventually completed as a 90-gun screw battleship under the name of Windsor Castle

HMS Windsor Castle (1858)

HMS Windsor Castle was a triple-decker, 102-gun first-rate Royal Navy ship of the line. She was renamed HMS Cambridge in 1869, when she replaced a ship of the same name as gunnery ship off Plymouth.-Early life:...

.

In 1842 she was visited by Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

. In 1854, she participated in the bombardment of Sebastopol

Sevastopol

Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

. The famous Timothy the tortoise

Timothy (tortoise)

Timothy was a Mediterranean Spur-thighed tortoise who was thought to be approximately 165 years old at the time of her death. This made her the UK's oldest known resident...

, who was about 160 years old when she died in 2004, was the ship's mascot during this time.

Between August 1858 and April 1859 the Queen was converted at Sheerness Dockyard to steam propulsion, being at the same time cut down from three decks to two gundecks, and re-armed as a 86-gun ship. She was fitted with a Maudslay, Sons and Field

Henry Maudslay

Henry Maudslay was a British machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology.-Early life:...

 500 nhp engine and single screw propulsion.

The ship was broken up in 1871 at Surrey Canal Wharf in Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...

, on the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

.