Which British king was known as the 'Father of the British Navy'?

Which British king was known as the “Father of the British Navy”? Henry VIII is commonly given this title because he transformed England’s naval organization and shipbuilding during the sixteenth century.

When Henry became king in 1509, England possessed warships, but its navy was not yet a permanent, centrally managed force on the later British model. Henry expanded the fleet, established naval administration and invested heavily in purpose-built warships. His reign saw the construction of vessels such as the Mary Rose and the Henry Grâce à Dieu, among the largest and most heavily armed ships of their time.

Henry also founded important naval facilities, including dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich, and helped create the administrative foundations of the Navy Royal. His naval reforms were driven partly by rivalry with France and Scotland and by the growing importance of artillery at sea.

The title is commemorative rather than an official royal name. Alfred the Great is sometimes associated with early English naval development, while Charles II later reorganized the navy, but Henry VIII is the standard answer to this particular epithet.