She was to be the flagship of King Henry VIII’s fleet and was a new breed of Tudor warship with purpose-built gun-ports. An eyewitness said that she had fired all of her guns on one side and was turning when she was caught in a strong gust of wind causing her to sink in the Solent whilst leading 60 ships against the French.
The wreck of the Mary Rose was discovered in 1971 and was raised on October 11 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust. The surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts now sit in The Mary Rose Museum for us all to see.
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There may have been 700 men on board the Mary Rose when she sank, of which fewer than 40 survived. There have been 27,831 dives made to the Mary Rose during the main excavation, that’s 22,710 hours on the seabed. 60 million people worldwide watched the wreck being raised live on television.
1. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
Prince Charles with Dr Margaret Rule checking progress on the Mary Rose in 1986. Picture: The News img1875 Photo: The News archive
2. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
Artist impression of ship in 1545. The Mary Rose Trust tell us they are both The Mary Rose. Painting W.H. Bishop. Photo: The News archive
3. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
A fantastic illustration of the Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose at sea Photo: The News archive
4. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
The raising of the Mary Rose Photo: The News archive