With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

HMS Victory future secured as National Museum of the Royal Navy gets 64-cannon launch

Months of speculation over the future of HMS Victory ended today after the Secretary for the Ministry of Defence announced the flagship would be a focal point for a new National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Speaking at the launch in Portsmouth, Baroness Taylor unveiled plans to unite the four Naval Service museums – at Portsmouth, Gosport, Southsea and Yeovilton – in one national centre.

“To many people, it has long seemed curious that the Royal Navy - which is, after all, the Senior Service - is the only one of the three Armed Forces not to be represented by a national museum,” admitted the Baroness.

“For a nation that owes its very existence to its history as a sea power, its maritime prowess and naval mastery, this is a strange omission, and one that the Royal Navy now intends to rectify by drawing its four individual museums together.”

The Victory will remain a Royal Navy Flagship, with the Museum taking charge of its running as a tourist attraction...
Read entire article at Culture24