Oil painting. This appears to be the picture presented to Greenwich Hospital for the Naval Galley in the Painted Hall, by the GH Secretary, Mr Hooper. At the Director's meeting of 17 April 1831 the Governor (Sir Richard Keats) first offered a painting of the 'Battle of La Hogue' (actually Barfleur) by Paton (BHC0332) and 'The Secretary took the occasion to request the Board’s acceptance of a curious old painting of a First Rate called the Sovereign of the Seas, built at Woolwich by King Charles the First.’ The Board expressed thanks to both and directed that the pictures be placed in the Hall.' (TNA ADM67/82, loc.cit. p.184).

This 'Sovereign' picture is not in the 1922 PH catalogue, so was presumably hanging elsewhere in the ORNC at the time, but came to NMM with the rest of the GH Collection (as GH197) in 1936. The attribution to Monamy was either made fairly late in the Naval Gallery days or in the Museum. It clearly relates to Monamy's 'Royal Sovereign' - not 'Sovereign of the Seas' - in the Painter Stainers' Company, which itself is based on van de Velde's (NMM), but does not look good enough for unequivocally by Monamy and is probably a copy after him, though the condition is poor and a better assesment will only be possibly when it has been improved. [PvdM 3/06; updated, image now being included 2/10]