The importance of Dundee’s Frigate Unicorn as a former naval warship has been recognised by the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN).
The grand old lady of Victoria Dock is also to be given the royal seal of approval with a visit on Tuesday by Princess Anne to mark the affiliation of the Unicorn Preservation Society with the NMRN.
The princess, who is patron of both organisations, will unveil drawings by Sir Robert Seppings, who designed Unicorn.
The NMRN was established to create, preserve, explain and celebrate the contribution made by the Royal Navy during its history of over 1000 years, in the defence of the UK and its overseas interests.
The affiliation aims to increase the understanding and importance of the navy to Britain’s heritage and to display a clear and practical link with HMS Victory in Portsmouth and HM Frigate Unicorn, which was built in 1824 in Dundee.
It also seeks to illustrate the ships and people of the Royal Navy in the final century of sail, and also the role of the Royal Navy’s Reserves in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
It will also bring national support to the Unicorn Preservation Society in its battle to secure the Frigate Unicorn’s long-term future.
Lord Dalhousie, chairman of the Unicorn Preservation Society, said, “This magnificent opportunity to link Unicorn with the National Museum of the Royal Navy arose as a direct result of the Princess Royal holding a charity forum last year to mark her 60th birthday.
“All her charities were invited to discuss their challenges and opportunities and we all made some extremely relevant contacts.
“HM Frigate Unicorn is no longer a commissioned warship, but she still firmly belongs in the naval family and this affiliation and Tuesday’s presentation represent a very real and valuable integration of Britain’s Royal Naval heritage.
“Unicorn is a wooden ship and she cannot remain afloat indefinitely. We are determined to preserve her extraordinary originality, so she needs to be docked in a dry berth covered from the weather.
“There is now also an opportunity for Unicorn to move to an ideal final berth within Dundee’s new central waterfront development, and it is almost exactly where she spent her first century in the city.
“This option brings HM Frigate Unicorn into a spectacular triangular relationship with RRS Discovery and the V&A Dundee, and would bring Dundee’s two great historic ships back together.”
Dr Dominic Tweddle, director-general of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, said, “The 19th of April marks a special day as the National Museum of the Royal Navy comes to Dundee.
“The opportunity to welcome HMS Unicorn, a historic ship of national importance, as an affiliate of the National Museum means that the story of the Royal Navy, its ships and its people can now be told on a national scale.”