What is Her Majesty's Ship?
'''HMS''' is an [[acronym]] (contraction) of '''Her Majesty's Ship'''. It refers to ships of the [[Royal Navy]]. It is the official [[prefix]] of Royal Navy ship names since 1789. Versions of HMS are used in those [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries where the British [[monarch]] is still the [[head of state]]. So, for example, HMNZS is the prefix for the Royal New Zealand Navy. There are some similar designations. RMS designates a ship which officially transports mail for the United Kingdom. Other countries with monarchs use the same kind of system, and almost all countries have a prefix system for their ships.<ref>List of acronyms preceding the name of a ship. [http://www.pilotesbsl.qc.ca/en/ship/acronyms.php] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706201722/http://www.pilotesbsl.qc.ca/en/ship/acronyms.php |date=2011-07-06 }}</ref> == References == {{Reflist}} {{UK-stub}} [[Category:Royal Navy]]