Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations included a naval review in the waters of Spithead on 26 June 1897 which included 165 warships of the Royal Navy. The occasion was an unsubtle demonstration of the absolute supremacy of the Royal Navy at the apogee of its power. But the seeds of decline of British naval mastery can be traced in the careers of some of the ships of foreign nations invited to witness this show of dominance.
