Name The King

A year after Queen Victoria died in 1902 the bearded, pleasure loving Prince Edward, Prince of Wales was crowned King Edward VII. As one of the many ways of celebrating this, the end of the 'Victorian Age', Harry Tagg of East Molesey on the river Thames, built an 81ft Hurlingham-style passenger steam-boat, not in iron and steel, but in teak. She was christened THE KING.

Year after year, THE KING would take up to 200 passengers at a time to and from Hampton Court, Richmond and Kew. Powered by a single steam engine and immediately recognisable by her bowsprit, clipper stem and classic lines, she was a charabanc afloat at a time when most motor cruising was confined to the wealthy.

In May 1940 , THE KING was part of Operation Dynamo

When the war was over, she was returned to Twickenham to continue her peacetime activities. Her steam engine was replaced by a 75hp, 6-cylinder Thornycroft internal combus-tion unit of 1947 vintage.

After passing from Thames Launches to Charles Wyatt in 1980, she was sold to Gary Beckwith in 1985.

When the 1986 season was over, THE KING was taken to Len Bowman's Eel Pie Island Boatyard and dry-docked. Here, during the winter months, Gary Beckwith's marine engineer/ship-wright, Ron Oemering, carried out her face-lift.

Externally, two of her teak planks were replaced, her 3ft bronze propeller was sent away to Streamline Props of Hampshire for reconditioning, whilst new bearings were found for her shaft. Her oak decking was replanked where necessary, then recaulked and re-tingled and Len Bowman's Eel Pie Island team gave her a new coat of gloss blue and white. Perhaps more elegant was the transformation her interior. The ceiling was rebuilt using 22 panels covered in washable suede-style material. When 80 years of variegated paintwork was stripped from the rafters, they were found to be solid mahogany. The Saloon had seating for thirty-two guests

In 1989 THE KING was bought by Current Events Ltd (Derek Mann/Mark Wilson) and again a major overhaul took place. Her propeller shaft was replaced at Kew Grid and section of her teak stern replaced due to rott. The vessel continued to operate from Westminster to Hampton Court with various evening sightseeing cruises and private charters.

In 1994 the vessel was sold and THE KING under her own power left London and made the trip to Rochester before being handed over to the new owners. However her commercial career was short lived with just 1 year of operation on the Medway as a passenger vessel, she was laid up in the boatyard and over the next 22 years fell into major disrepair and sank on at least 2 occasions at the boatyard.

In 2007 she was floated (with pumps running to pump out water ingress from various places in her hull which had hogged after sitting in the mud for years) and she was placed into a drydock barge, where she awaited her fate.

In 2015 The King was sold to her new owner with the aim of saving her from scrap and totally restoring the vessel to its former glory