Royal Charter (ship)

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The Royal Charter sank in an 1859 storm, stimulating the establishment of modern weather forecasting.
History
United Kingdom
Name	Royal Charter
Owner	Liverpool & Australian Steamship Navigation Company
Builder	Sandycroft Ironworks, River Dee, Deeside, Wales, UK
Launched	1855
Fate	Wrecked on 25 October 1859
Sunk:	53°22′17″N 4°15′20″W / 53.37139°N 4.25556°W / 53.37139; -4.25556
General characteristics
Class and type	Steam clipper
Tonnage	2,719 GRT
Length	236 ft (72 m)
Beam	39 ft (12 m)
Depth of hold	23 ft (7.0 m)
Installed power	200 nhp
Propulsion	One boiler Direct acting steam trunk engine One propeller

The Royal Charter was a steam clipper which was wrecked off the beach of Porth Helaeth^[1] in Dulas Bay on the northeast coast of Anglesey, Wales on 26 October 1859. About 450 people died,^[2] the highest death toll of any shipwreck on the Welsh coast. The precise number of dead is uncertain as the complete passenger list was lost in the wreck, although an incomplete list (not including those who boarded just before departure) is retained in the Victorian Archives Centre in Victoria, Australia. The Royal Charter was the most prominent among about 200 ships wrecked by the Royal Charter Storm.

The Royal Charter was built at the Sandycroft Ironworks on the River Dee and was launched in 1855. She was a new type of ship, a 2,719-ton iron-hulled steam clipper, built in the same way as a clipper ship but with auxiliary coal-fired steam engines which could be used in the absence of suitable winds.^[3]

The ship was used on the route from Liverpool to Australia, mainly as a passenger ship although there was room for some cargo. There was room for up to 600 passengers, with luxury accommodation in the first class. She was considered ^{[by whom?]} a very fast ship, able to make the passage to Australia via Cape Horn in under 60 days.^{[citation needed][clarification needed]}