Le Soleil Royale was built for Louis XIV,
who was also known as the sun king. This historic and lavish vessel was built
in 1669. Le Soleil Royal was the Flagship of the French Navy. The original
drawings of this ship are in the Louvre. Premier Ship Models has exceptional
quality models that are perfect replicas of this ornate historic French vessel.
Le Soleil Royale was crafted to the highest
standards of quality with wood carvings in motifs of the monarch and contains
lavish ornamentation and sculptures. The intricate design of this ornate ship
is brought back to life in the quality Soleil Royal models available from
Premier Ship Models. If you love historic model ships or French history, this
is the perfect model to add to your collection.
Our models of this flagship of the French
Navy are hand crafted in beautiful, intricate detail to be exact replicas of
the original vessel. Choose from models of Le Soleil Royale in our silver, gold
and platinum ranges, which are available in several sizes. View information
about the size of the ships and photographs that show the detailed
craftsmanship.
We also have model ship building kits of Le
Soleil Royale, if you prefer to build the vessels in your collection. Our model
ships are made with high quality materials, including fittings, building
materials, precut frames, and cast brass ornaments. The detailed building plans
that are included with each ship make it easy to build the ship at home.
Named in honour of the Sun King, Louis XIV,
Le Soleil Royal was one of the most powerful ships of her day. As
flagship of the revitalised French Navy brought into being by the Minister of Marine Jean- Baptiste Colbert,
she was sumptuously decorated with wooden carvings depicting a variety
of motifs emblematic of the French monarch. As the sculptures recovered
from the Swedish warship Wasa prove, such lavish ornament was not
uncommon in seventeenth-century warships. Charles Le Brun’s drawings of the Statuary for le Soleil Royal are in the Louvre.
Details of the first decade of Le Soleil Royal’s service are obscure.
After her re-fit in 1889, she flew the flag of Vice Admiral
Anne-Hilarion de Contentin, Comte de Tourville, Admiral of the French
fleet.
In July 1690, Tourville led a fleet of seventy ships out of Brest and
on July 10, he met a combined English and Dutch fleet of fifty-seven
ships off Beachy Head.
The English and Dutch fleet lost eight ships, whilst the French lost none in a Victory called Beveziers.
Two years later, the position was reversed. Tourville with a fleet
of only forty-four ships was ordered to set sail from Brest on May 12,
1692. His order was to clear the English Channel for Louis XIV’s
invasion force of thirty thousand men assembled near Cherbourg.
On May 20, Tourville again met an Anglo-Dutch fleet of eighty-seven
ships. By increasing the distance between his ships in line ahead,
Tourville prevented his fleet from being encircled and outflanked.
But Le Soleil Royal was so badly damaged, that Tourville was forced to transfer his flag to Ambitieux the next day.
Le Soleil Royal, and two other French vessels, was forced into
Cherbourg where they ran aground and were eventually destroyed.
