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About the National Museum of the Royal Navy

‘It is upon the Navy, under the good providence of God, that the Wealth, Prosperity and peace of these Islands and of the Empire do mainly depend’
- Preamble to the Articles of War in the reign of Charles II

Some 380 years later, the National Museum of the Royal Navy came into being to tell the entire naval story, past present and future; the story of a Service that has literally sculpted the history, culture and the people of Great Britain.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth

On 28th June 1911, The Dockyard Museum opened in Portsmouth, growing and evolving into the Royal Naval Museum, which then became a part of the newly formed National Museum of the Royal Navy in September 2009.

The Museum changed its name to The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, as the overall organisation grew to also encompass The Royal Marines Museum, The Royal Navy Submarine Museum, the Fleet Air Arm Museum and Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower.

In 2015, we opened First World War Monitor HMS M.33 to the public, and in 2016 we added HMS Caroline in Belfast, and the Hartlepool Maritime Experience and HMS Trincomalee to the National Museum of the Royal Navy family.

Our museums include the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth (including HMS Victory and First World War Gallipoli campaign survivor HMS M.33); the Royal Marines Museum at Eastney, Portsmouth; the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Explosion, the Museum of Naval Firepower, both in Gosport and the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset. Joining the historic fleet is the UK’s oldest historic fighting ship still afloat, HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool and its historic quayside which will be known as The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool. Affiliates include HMS Unicorn (Dundee); HMS Wellington (London); the Medusa Trust (Portsmouth); the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust (Portsmouth) and the D-Day Museum (Portsmouth) and ships under its care include HMS Caroline in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

A scene from over 100 years ago in the original Portsmouth Dockyard Museum

The NMRN has a simple Vision, ‘to be the world’s most inspiring Naval Museum, underpinned by a spirit of enterprise and adventure”, and;

Our Goal is, to promote the traditions and public understanding of the Royal Navy and its constituent branches, past, present and future’.