Prince Consort class

The Prince Consort class was a class of heavy cruisers in service with the Royal Manticoran Navy.
The ships of this class were named after various princes and princesses of the House of Winton.
== Origins and design notes ==
The Prince Consort class' origins date to the early 1850's, when King Roger III launched a massive naval expansion plan aimed at giving the Star Kingdom of Manticore the capability to withstand an attack by the People's Republic of Haven.
However, the need for a powerful weapons suite coupled with a quick, large and cheap production run, forced the Bureau of Ships to modify the design to reduce delays and expenses in the construction of the Prince Consorts. Eventually, this led to the suppression of any flag, staff or squadron command facilities from the ships of the class to accommodate additional weapons, thereby making almost impossible their use as task group or squadron flagships.
Also, little space had been reserved for eventual refits and upgrades throughout the ships' lifetimes, which would lead to inevitable internal cramping as time passed. ()
== Service Record ==
To offset the unsuitability of the Prince Consorts as flagships, BuShips introduced an analog design based upon the original class, but which incorporated the facilities needed to accommodate a flag officer and associate staff. This design, known as the Crusader class, was developed in parallel with the Prince Consorts, with an estimated production run which would give the navy one Crusader for every seven Prince Consorts built.
However, both a building program unsuited for the need of eventual refits and repair times, and the first Janacek Admiralty's aversion for "imperialistic adventures" (for which dedicated flagships which could be posted with their squadrons in foreign stations) led to a lesser number of Crusaders than the original planners had intended, with critical and unforeseen consequences for the RMN's operations which would not be felt in their entirety until the outbreak of the First Havenite-Manticoran War.
Even after the introduction of the later and more modern Star Knight-class, the Prince Consorts remained the RMN's most numerous class of heavy cruisers, and the ships were kept in continual upgrades and refits to keep them useful as the war drew on. ()
A total of 175 of these ships were built, and some of them remained in service until 1919 PD. ()
== Known Vessels==
* HMS Prince Adrian
* HMS Prince Justin
* HMS Prince Michael
* HMS Prince Roger
* HMS Prince Stephen
* HMS Prince Harold
* HMS Princess Adrienne
* HMS Princess Angelique
* HMS Princess Aoriana
* HMS Princess Caitrin
* HMS Princess Joanna
* HMS Princess Michelle
* HMS Princess Samantha
* HMS Princess Solange
== References ==
Category:Ship Classes
Category:Manticoran Ship Classes
Category:Heavy Cruiser Classes
Category:Manticoran Heavy Cruiser Classes