HNoMYNorge in Oslo in August 2019
History
United Kingdom
Name	MYPhilante
Owner	T O M Sopwith
Ordered	1936
Builder	Camper and Nicholsons,Gosport
Yard number	442
Launched	11 February 1937
Fate	Sold to theAdmiralty, September 1939
United Kingdom
Name	HMSPhilante
Acquired	21 September 1939
Honours & awards	Battle of the Atlantic
Fate	Sold 1946
Norway
Name	Norge
Namesake	Norway
Cost	1,500,000NOK (1947)
Acquired	July 1947
Commissioned	17 May 1948
Identification	MMSI number:257001000 Callsign: LAMA
Status	In active service
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,628 t
Length	80.6 m (264 ft 5 in)
Beam	11.6 m (38 ft 1 in)
Draught	4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2 ×Bergen Diesel 1,760 hp (1,312 kW) (installed 1982) 2 shafts
Speed	17knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (12,000 km)
Complement	54 (18 officers, 36 privates) during the season; 20 during winter
Armament	Small arms

HNoMYNorge (inNorwegian,KS orK/SNorge)^[1] is the Royal Yacht of theking of Norway. One of only three remainingRoyal Yachts in Europe,^[2] the ship's nameNorge is NorwegianBokmål forNorway. The Royal YachtNorge was the Norwegian people's gift to KingHaakon VII in 1947. The yacht is owned by the King but maintained and crewed by theRoyal Norwegian Navy. Originally built in 1937 in theUnited Kingdom forThomas Sopwith, she served in theRoyal Navy as anarmed yacht during theSecond World War.

The vessel was built in 1937 byCamper and Nicholsons inNortham, Southampton,Hampshire as aluxury yacht forThomas Sopwith, a wealthy British aviation engineer and industrialist, who was then the chairman of theHawker Siddeley Aircraft Company. One of the world's largest privately owned motor yachts of its time, it was intended for leisure cruising and for Sopwith to use as a base atocean racing events, in which he was a keen patron and participant. The yacht's name wasMYPhilante, aportmanteau of the names of the owner's wife and son;Phil, short for "Phyllis",an, short for "and",t ande for "Thomas Edward".^[3] She crossed theAtlantic in the same year for Sopwith's unsuccessful attempt to win theAmerica's Cup as helmsman of his newJ-class yacht,Endeavour II. During the passage home,Philante's skipper died and wasburied at sea.^[4] In 1939,Philante was used as a base for the organising committee of theTeignmouth Regatta in which Sopwith was racing his yachtTomahawk. The regatta ended on 1 September, the day thatNazi Germany invadedPoland, precipitating the United Kingdom's entry into the Second World War two days later. TheAdmiralty approached Sopwith with a view to taking over thePhilante as an armed yacht; Sopwith agreed to sell the vessel to the Royal Navy,^[5] although some sources state that she was requisitioned, or donated as a gift to the nation.^[6]

Philante was taken in hand by the navy on 21 September 1939 for conversion atPortsmouth,^[7] and she served asHMSPhilante (some sources use the prefix "HMY" for "His Majesty's Yacht").^[8] On 21 June 1940,Philante evacuated theLieutenant Governor of Jersey toPortland during thedemilitarisation of the Channel Islands.^[9] She also acted as a training vessel for theFleet Air Arm and as aconvoy escort, in which role she made seven return crossings of the Atlantic between 1941 and 1942. In September 1942,Yachting magazine reported that she was "one of the most luxurious warships afloat... her oak-panelledwardroom can seat fifty people at dinner at one table. The officer's cabins have private bathrooms,divan beds and the fittings of aWest End hotel suite".^[7] In February 1943,Philante was attached to theWestern Approaches Tactical Unit, which ran courses for Royal Navy,Royal Canadian Navy, Fleet Air Arm andRAF Coastal Command officers in the latest techniques ofanti-submarine warfare (ASW). Under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches, Admiral SirMax Horton,Philante, with a staff of ASW experts on board, would provide the practical element of these courses, acting as the commodore of a convoy in exercises involving other warships, submarines and aircraft.^[10] These exercises were conducted at a number of different bases around the United Kingdom, whereverEscort Groups were preparing to depart.^[11]Philante's final contribution was in May 1945, when she was attached to 21st Escort Group with Admiral Horton on board and supervised the surrender and disarmament of 33U-boats atLoch Eriboll on the north coast of Scotland. In 1946,Philante was sold back to Thomas Sopwith, despite his having already bought a replacement yacht which he calledPhilante II.^[5]

When PrinceCarl of Denmark, a naval officer, agreed to be elected to the vacant throne of Norway in 1905 (taking theregnal name of Haakon), he was promised a royal yacht. Due to Norway's difficult economic situation after the dissolution of theunion with Sweden, it never materialised. During the two World Wars the economy and other conditions never made it possible to acquire a yacht.

After World War II a nationwide appeal was made for funds to purchase a yacht for the respected and ageing king, who had become a truly national symbol through his steadfast resistance against Nazi Germany. Among the followers of the appeal were 300,000 of the country's school children. Eventually, interest centred on the British motor yachtPhilante.

In July 1947, the ship was bought by Norway for 1,500,000Norwegian kroner (equivalent to 33 142 000 NOK or 3 870 000 USD in 2021)^[12] in time for a model to be made and presented to the King at his 75th birthday.^[13] She was returned to the original builders, Camper and Nicholsons, for a refit. King Haakon inspected the work in progress during his visit to England in November 1947 for thewedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh.^[7] The architectFinn Nilsson was asked to oversee the redesign. After refitting was completed, she was commissioned on 17 May 1948,Norwegian Constitutional Day. Commander Captain Christian August Monsen took command of her and sailed her to Norway. On 9 June, she was presented to King Haakon and renamedNorge. Commander Monsen served as her first captain and King Haakon usedNorge extensively for travels in Norway and abroad; his last voyage in her was toMolde in western Norway in June 1955.^[12]

KingOlav V took overNorge after his father's death in 1957, and a 10-year plan was adopted to upgrade the hull and technical equipment. The King followed the traditions introduced by King Haakon, usingNorge on both official and private occasions.

On 7 March 1985,Norge was docked for repair at the shipyard inHorten. During welding operations on board a fire broke out and that lasted a whole day and destroyed most of the ship, though the hull and engines survived. King Olav decided the ship was to be rebuilt at Horten shipyard.^[14] A year later he was once again able to take overNorge, with a higher standard of safety and better technical equipment than before the fire.

When King Olav died in 1991,Norge was taken over by KingHarald V.

The Royal YachtNorge is owned by the King. A royaldecree of 1947 provides that the ship shall be crewed, operated and maintained by the nation'sDefence Forces. In summer the complement of officers and crew is 54. The season begins when the King embarks in May and ends when he disembarks in late September. The winter is used for maintenance, with a reduced crew of 20.

The sailing schedule for the Royal Yacht varies from year to year. When the King is competing in major internationalyacht races, he usesNorge as a base. The King and Queen also make use of the Royal Yacht for official events in Norway and abroad. In 2004 the King used the yacht on his trip toFrance for the 60th anniversary ofD-Day. In 2006 the yacht was among other events used abroad during thestate visit toIreland and in Norway during the state visit by theKing andQueen ofSpain.

For the summer of 2007,Norge and the Danish Royal YachtDannebrog cruised along the southernmost parts of Norway, to celebrate the 70th birthdays of the King and Queen—andNorge itself.^[15]

The Royal motor boatStjernen is maintained and crewed as a sub-unit of the Royal Yacht. It does not have the same sailing schedule.

• Doherty, Richard (2015).Churchill's Greatest Fear: The Battle of the Atlantic – 3 September 1939 to 7 May 1945. Pen & Sword Military.ISBN 978-1473834002.
• Hamon, Simon (2015).Voices from the Past: Channel Islands Invaded: The German Attack on the British Isles in 1940 Told Through Eyewitness Accounts, Newspaper Reports, Parliamentary Debates, Memoirs and Diaries. Frontline Books.ISBN 978-1473851597.
• Haslop, Dennis (2013).Britain, Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic: A Comparative Study. Bloomsbury Academic.ISBN 978-1472507235.
• Hird, David M (2010).The Grey Wolves of Eriboll. Whittles Publishing.ISBN 978-1904445326.
• Leather, John (2003).Salty Shore. Seafarer Books.ISBN 978-0954275013.
• Sharp, Nigel (2015).Troubled Waters: Leisure Boating and the Second World War. Amberley Publishing.ISBN 978-1445651606.
• Steensen, Robert Steen (1953).Alverdens krigsskibe (in Danish). Copenhagen: Det Schønbergske Forlag.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHNoMYNorge.

• The Royal Yacht – The Royal House of Norway's official information
• Kongeskipet Norge(in Norwegian) – Royal Norwegian Navy web page
• Kongen kommer(in Norwegian) – NRK Documentary on web TV
• T.O.M Sopwith's Yacht Launched by his Tiny Son – Newsreel of the launch ofPhilante in 1937.
• Wren Megan Moir served on HMS Philante – a veteran explains the role of HMSPhilante during the Second World War.

59°54′30″N10°43′09″E / 59.9084°N 10.7192°E /59.9084; 10.7192

• Auxiliary ships of the Royal Norwegian Navy
• Royal and presidential yachts
• 1937 ships
• Motor yachts
• Ships built in Gosport
• Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
• World War II escort ships of the United Kingdom

• Articles with Norwegian-language sources (no)
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2017
• MMSI Number
• CS1 Danish-language sources (da)
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Coordinates not on Wikidata