The Mary Rose is a Tudor warship built in Portsmouth, England between 1509 and 1511 during the reign of King Henry VIII. It served in the Royal Navy for 34 years, participating in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. The ship sank in 1545 during the Battle of the Solent, a strait north of the Isle of Wight. In 1982, the wreckage was raised from the seabed in one of maritime archaeology's most complex and expensive salvage projects.
Today, the Mary Rose is the centerpiece of the Mary Rose Museum at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in the United Kingdom. The museum displays the ship and approximately 19,000 recovered artifacts, offering a unique glimpse into Tudor maritime life. Key attractions include the ship itself, preserved after decades of conservation, and exhibits showcasing the weaponry, personal belongings, and skeletal remains of the crew. Visitors can explore the ship from three galleries and see how the men of the Mary Rose lived, worked, and fought through an audio-visual display. In 2016, a £5.4 million development allowed visitors to view the ship without a glass barrier. The museum also provides experiences such as Hatch's History Detectives, a multi-sensory adventure led by the ship's dog, and the Mary Rose 1545 Experience, which simulates the ship's final moments.
