Card of the Day: Review of the Fleet at Spithead

Following the Great War, the Crown tried to return to business as usual by investing their time into the typical duties of the monarchy. As part of this, King George V returned to his role as Reviewer of the Royal Navy.


The twenty-first card in the 1935 commemorative series by Wills’s Cigarette Company depicts this event.

The reverse of the card reads:

REVIEW OF THE FLEET AT SPITHEAD


Until the Atlantic and Reserve Fleets gathered at Spithead on July 26th, 1924, there had not been a Royal Naval Review since the eve of the Great War. The King and the Prince of Wales on the bridge of the “Victoria and Albert” saw fewer capital ships than in 1914, but the 196 war vessels assembled included a far more varied collection of supporting craft. Dressed over-all with fluttering flags and pendants, the heavy ships—most of which has fought at Jutland—greeted the Sovereign with a salute of twenty-one guns, the crews vigorously cheering as the Royal Yacht passed. The Duke of Kent (then Prince George) was present as a sub-lieutenant in the destroyer, “Ursula.”