Drott - a command ship and Royal yacht in Sweden in the late 19th century

Drott (53,4 x 8,1m), King Oscar II's favorite ship

Oscar II (1829 - 1907), King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1905, entered the Royal Swedish Navy already at the age of eleven, and was appointed junior lieutenant in 1845. Throughout his life King Oscar retained his love for the sea and the navy, his favored military branch. 

Oscar, who also was a distinguished writer and musical amateur, showed his love for the navy even in his poetry; a collection of his lyrical and narrative poems, Memorials of the Swedish Fleet, published anonymously, obtained the second prize of the Swedish Academy in 1858.

As a young navy officer Oscar had the command of this "Cannon dinghy" (1845). 

During his years as King of Sweden Oscar II's favorite ship was the former navy mine cruiser Ran (built in 1877), which in 1883 was converted into a command ship and royal yacht, renamed Drott. 

 Drott in Marstrand on the southwestern coast of Sweden.. (drawing)

A photograph of Drott anchored in Marstrand, from the late 1890s.

In 1905 Drott had white paint and one funnel less.

Drott became a well-known sight during King Oscar's annual summer visits to the Swedish west coast. In his book Från Slott till Koja (From Castle to Hut), the American ambassador to Sweden, W.W. Thomas Jr, describes the enthusiasm of the local people of Lysekil - particularly the ladies - who came to see the arrival of King Oscar on board Drott in 1887:

"And the ladies, how they stared at His Majesty! They looked like they would have wanted to swallow him up with their gazes. When we arrived in the old town, there stood a strong and wide madam, with beautiful features. I will never forget how her countenance glowed and shone, her nostrils widened, her eyes flashed, and her bosom rose, as she from the folds of her headscarf, firmly fixed her eyes on the king." 

King Oscar posing for the photographer on board the Drott  in  Lysekil.

The King, surrounded by officers of the Royal Swedish Navy.

A drawing showing the Drott and the flotilla of small sailing yachts which came to welcome King Oscar in Lysekil in 1887. U.S. Ambassador W.W. Thomas Jr. had been invited to act as the "admiral" of the lead boat of the greeting flotilla.

Also king Oscar's successor Gustaf V used the Drott for visits. This photograph was taken in 1909.

During the WW I years the Drott was not properly taken care of. In 1923 it was decommissioned and sold to a Danish firm in order to be scrapped. A sad fate for a beautiful ship.