Repro ID: BHC3600
Title: The Royal Escape close-hauled in a breeze.
Description: The 'Royal Escape' was a coasting collier previously known as the 'Surprise', in which King Charles II escaped to France after his defeat by Cromwell at Worcester in September 1651. On his restoration in 1660 the King purchased the ship, commissioned her as a royal yacht and renamed her. He kept her in the Thames, moored opposite the Palace of Whitehall 'as a reminder to himself and his subjects'.
Creator: Willem van de Velde, the Younger
Date: 17th century
Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London
