HMS Royal Arthur (1891)

HMS Royal Arthur was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class, previously named Centaur, but renamed in 1890 prior to launching. Royal Arthur, and her sister ship Crescent, were built to a slightly modified design and are sometimes considered a separate class. She was built at Portsmouth and launched on 26 February 1891.

She first served as the flagship of the Pacific Station from 1893 to 1896, before being refitted at Portsmouth in 1897. She then served as the flagship of the Australian Station from 1897 to 1904. In that role she provided escort for the Royal Yacht Ophir carrying the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V and Queen Mary) to Australia to open the new Federal Parliament in 1901. She left the Australia Station on 6 April 1904 and was paid off and refitted at Portsmouth.

She recommissioned in 1905 and served on the North America and West Indies Station before returning to England in 1906. Laid up in reserve for three years, she served as part of the Home Fleet and later Queenstown Training Squadron. She was a guardship at Scapa Flow during the early part of the First World War and later as a submarine depot ship.

Fate
She was paid off in 1920 and sold in August 1921 for breaking up in Germany.