Her Majesty's Ship

Her or His Majesty's Ship (HMS) is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies, either formally or informally.

Sweden
In the Swedish Navy (formerly the Royal Swedish Navy), all vessels are given the prefix HMS (Hans or Hennes Majestäts Skepp). This is true for both surface and submarine vessels.

Abroad, Swedish navy ships are sometimes given the prefix HSwMS (for His Swedish Majesty's Ship), this in order so that any confusion with other uses of HMS can be avoided.

United Kingdom
In the British Royal Navy, it has been in use since 1789 and refers to the king or queen of the United Kingdom as appropriate at the time. Formerly, HBMS (for His or Her Britannic Majesty's Ship) was also used.

Submarines in Her Majesty's service have the prefix HM Submarine. Similarly, the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was a commissioned ship in the Royal Navy, was known as HMY Britannia. Otherwise all ships in the Royal Navy are known as HM Ships, though formerly when a distinction was made between three-masted ship-rigged ships and smaller vessels they would be called HM Frigate X, or HM Sloop Y.

The prefix "HMS" is also used by shore establishments which are commissioned "stone frigates" in the Royal Navy. Examples include HMS Excellent, which is a training school located on an island in Portsmouth Harbour, and HMS Vulcan, in Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland, which is established to test the design of nuclear power systems for use in submarines.

The sample ship name used by the Royal Navy to signify a hypothetical vessel is HMS Nonsuch. This is a name that has been used by the Royal Navy in the past; on the eve of World War II the name devolved to the Royal Canadian Navy. HMCS Nonsuch is at present the "stone frigate" of the Edmonton Division of the Canadian Naval Reserve.

British government ships not in the Royal Navy have other designations, such as "RFA" for ships in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Former British Empire
States which recognise the head of state of the United Kingdom as their own also use the appellation, appropriately modified to reflect the local situation.

Current

 * Canada: Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) / (Navire canadien de Sa Majesté) (NCSM) – Royal Canadian Navy
 * Australia: Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) – Royal Australian Navy
 * New Zealand: Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship (HMNZS) – Royal New Zealand Navy
 * Bahamas: Her Majesty's Bahamian Ship (HMBS) – Royal Bahamas Defence Force
 * Barbados: Her Majesty's Barbadian Ship (HMBS) – Barbados Defence Force
 * Papua New Guinea: Her Majesty's Papua New Guinean Ship (HMPNGS)
 * Jamaica: Her Majesty's Jamaican Ship (HMJS) – Jamaica Defence Force
 * Tuvalu: Her Majesty's Tuvalu Surveillance Ship (HMTSS)

Obsolete

 * Colonial: Her Majesty's Colonial Ship (HMCS)
 * Australia: Commonwealth Naval Ship (CNS)
 * Victoria: Her Majesty's Victorian Ship (HMVS)
 * Queensland: Her Majesty's Queensland Ship (HMQS)


 * Burma: Her Majesty's Burmese Ship (HMBS)
 * South Africa: Her Majesty's South African Ship (HMSAS)
 * India: Her Majesty's Indian Ship (HMIS)
 * Ceylon: Her Majesty's Ceylon Ship (HMCyS)
 * Pakistan: Her Majesty's Pakistani Ship (HMPS)