HMS

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HMS Dauntless was once feared by pirates, considered the power in Caribbean waters and pride of the Royal Navy.

"Why don't I want to be doing it?"
"Well, because...Because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore, waiting for you."

―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow

His Majesty's Ship, abbreviated HMS and H.M.S., was the prefix used for ships, most notably used by the British Royal Navy and the British Empire. By the late 17th century, the name Royal Navy was officially adopted, as well as the prefix His Majesty's Ship, with variants on HMS being used by the navies of British colonies. The practice was maintained by members of the British Empire. With the prefix HMS, the Royal Navy also adopted nomenclature that reflected a vessel's type or purpose. Among the ships commissioned into Royal Navy service, the Dauntless and Providence most notably used the prefix HMS.

List of known HMS vessels

• Achilles
• Century
• Dauntless
• Endeavour
• Interceptor
• Peregrine
• Providence

Behind the scenes

HMS first appeared through the British Royal Navy ships featured in Irene Trimble's junior novelization for the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for The Curse of the Black Pearl features the H.M.S. Dauntless and the H.M.S. Interceptor. While both British navy ships retained the "HMS" prefix in the film's production notes and the junior novelization, only the Dauntless was named with the prefix in the final cut of the film. The Interceptor was given the HMS prefix the Richard Platt-Glenn Dakin reference books Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay draft for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the H.M.S. ENDEAVOR was identified as one of the Royal Navy ships anchored in a line across the harbor of Port Royal. However, the Endeavour, as correctly spelled in most other media, was not identified nor classified with the prefix onscreen. The name "HMS Endeavour" was first used in the 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game.

A. C. Crispin's 2011 novel The Price of Freedom featured the Venganza, which was described as originally being a Royal Navy vessel, though the ship was never identified with her original, British name. When asked about the ship's original name after the release of The Price of Freedom, Crispin said she did not make up a name for her at the time of writing the novel. As such, at Keep to the Code forums, Crispin suggested that the British name for the Venganza was HMS Peregrine.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the HMS Providence was simply named "the Providence" by Captain Hector Barbossa in at least one draft, though the HMS prefix was added to Barbossa's line in later drafts. While the HMS Providence was identified, and spoken by Barbossa in the film, the prefix was omitted from Barbossa's line in James Ponti's junior novelization. The HMS Providence was portrayed by the HMS Surprise, a beautiful replica of the 1757 British frigate HMS Rose. Although the ship is generally known as the "HMS Surprise", she is legally not entitled to the prefix HMS, because she is not part of the Royal Navy.

Terry Rossio's original 2012 screenplay draft for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales featured the HMS Bonaventure and the HMS Gloucester. The Bonaventure was described as "the Flagship of the Royal Navy" by Pintel and Ragetti. In Jeff Nathanson's 2013 early screenplay draft, Captain Toms' warship was named the H.M.S. Monarch. However, the prefix H.M.S. was not used in the final cut of the film nor any tie-in books.

In real-world history, His (or Her) Majesty's Ship is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies. This information has yet to be detailed in any Pirates of the Caribbean media. In addition, while the term "His Majesty's Ship" originated in the 17th century, the earliest recorded example of the use of HMS as an abbreviation and acronym is a reference to HMS Phoenix in 1789, thus making its appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean anachronistic.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
• Enter... the Scarecrow!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: The Movie Storybook (mentioned in a letter)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide
• The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

External links

• His Majesty's Ship on Wikipedia