Miniature frigate 'Royal Adelaide' (1834)

Scale: 1:24. A contemporary full hull model of the miniature frigate 'Royal Adelaide' (1834). The model is fully rigged, including a small Union flag on the jack staff, and mounted on turned pillars supported by carved dolphins amidships, all of which are secured to an original wooden baseboard.

The 'Royal Adelaide' was literally a miniature version of the 36-gun frigate 'Pique' as designed by the Chief Surveyor of the Navy, Sir William Symonds. It was built to the order of King William IV for the use of the royal princes on Virginia Water as a yacht and for sail training. The model is complete with 22 brass guns on carriages and the large scale accommodation ladder mounted on the port side gives an indication of the scale against the human figure. There is also a large coach house on the quarterdeck between the fore and main masts, the roof of which lifts off to reveal the interior of the panelled cabin. Access to the cabin was via the companionway on the starboard side of the mainmast.

The 'Royal Adelaide' was built by Mr Fincham at Sheerness in 1834 and measured 50 feet in length by 15 feet in the beam and had a tonnage of 50 burden. It was then taken to pieces and reassembled on Virginia Water, where the re-launching was attended by the Royal Family with the event reported widely in the local papers. It was eventually broken up in 1877 and its brass cannon were presented by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, to the Royal Yacht Squadron and are now at the Castle at Cowes.