Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom, responsible for defending the country, the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories from attack by sea. It traces its origins to the English navy of the early sixteenth century and was formally founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, which makes it the oldest of the British armed services and the Senior Service. A standing Navy Royal with its own dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships emerged under Henry VIII, and from the early eighteenth century until the Second World War it was the most powerful navy in the world. It now operates from Portsmouth, Clyde and Devonport. In this atlas it appears as the owner and customer of the royal dockyards, such as Chatham, that built and maintained its ships.