 Princess Royal participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight a month after the war began and then was sent south to the Caribbean to prevent the German East Asia Squadron from using the Panama Canal. After the East Asia Squadron was sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914 by the Invincible and Inflexible, Princess Royal rejoined the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (BCS). During the Battle of Dogger Bank she scored only a few hits, although one crippled the German armoured cruiser Blücher which allowed the enemy vessel to be caught and sunk by the concentrated fire of the British battlecruisers. Shortly afterwards, Princess Royal became the flagship of the 1st BCS, under the command of Rear Admiral Osmond Brock. She was then moderately damaged during the Battle of Jutland and required a month and a half of repairs afterwards.
