THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL NAVY begins with King Henry VIII’s first fleet, moves on to the exploits of Sir Francis Drake, the showdown with Spain’s “invincible” Armada in 1588, Nelson’s success at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the Dreadnought in 1906, the sinking of the Bismark in WWII, and the Falklands War in 1982.