Why Do British Ships Have HMS In Their Names?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In close association with them are the countries that make up the Commonwealth — 56 independent nations from Australia and New Zealand to Canada, Jamaica, India, Pakistan, and 21 countries across Africa. 

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On top of the U.K, Charles III is king of 14 more of them: Solomon Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Australia, Jamaica, Belize, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Grenada, Tuvalu, St. Lucia, Canada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Bahamas. You might think this means that ships of the Canadian, Jamaican, or Australian navies also bear the HMS prefix, but they use alternative takes on it, making their connection clear while highlighting their independence. 

So Canadian naval vessels bear the prefix HMCS, for His/Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship, while the Jamaican naval force uses His/Her Majesty’s Jamaican Ship, or HMJS. In the Royal Bahamas Defence Force it’s HMBS, or His/Her Majesty’s Bahamian Ship. The nine ships of the New Zealand Defense Force use HMNZS, short for His/Her Majesty’s New Zealand Ship, and the equivalent for Australian naval ships is HMAS, or His/Her Majesty’s Australian Ship. Papua New Guinea offers the longest variation on this, His/Her Majesty’s Papua New Guinea Ship, or HMPNGS, while Tuvalu uses HMTSS. 

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Some Commonwealth nations, however, don’t follow this practice. Pakistan’s navy uses Pakistan Naval Ship, for example, and India uses Indian Naval Ship, or PNS and INS respectively.