Sovereign of the Seas was launched at Woolwich, England, in 1637 as one of the largest and most elaborately decorated warships of its age. Built for Charles I, it carried an exceptional number of heavy guns. Its expense and symbolism reflected the Stuart monarchy's ambitions shortly before the English Civil Wars.

The ship's grandeur belongs to the naval world celebrated in Restoration poetry, especially Dryden's Annus Mirabilis. Poets used such royal vessels as images of the state itself, combining technological splendour with warnings about pride, taxation and unstable power.