This film is part of Free

The King with his Fleet
The might of the Royal Navy on display during a battleship parade on the eve of WWI.
Overview
This newsreel item capturing a review of Britain's battleships off Spithead was shot just three weeks after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event which sparked WWI. An imposing patriotic spectacle and a show of naval strength, the review was an obvious choice for Topical Budget, whose camera lingers on the mighty 'King George V', one of the Navy's new super-dreadnoughts.
The Times newspaper described the “magnificent spectacle to those on shore”, as more than 200 warships paraded down the Solent in a symbolic display of British sea-power. But the mobilization exercise was also an important test of the Navy’s readiness for war, by then a fast approaching reality.
Related

Spithead Review and Regatta Spithead Review and Regatta
Amateur film 1937 4 mins Silent Location: Spithead
Eric Norman's fascinating film captures the 1937 Coronation Fleet Review – with Royal Navy warships, liners, yachts and submarines

Naval Review 1914 Naval Review 1914
Non-Fiction 1914 5 mins Silent Location: Spithead
King George V reviews the British fleet at Spithead in July 1914, as Britain steels herself for war.

Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.

Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Screenwriters' Lecture with Brian Helgeland Screenwriters' Lecture with Brian Helgeland
Inside Film 2012 27 mins
L.A. Confidential's screenwriter explains why he thinks writer's block is a myth, and reveals Clint Eastwood's unique powers of persuasion.

Olivier Assayas (Masterclass) Olivier Assayas (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2010 41 mins
Irma Vep writer/director Assayas moved from film journalism to filmmaking – a fascinating journey told with disarming honesty to Jonathan Romney.

Roger Corman in Conversation Roger Corman in Conversation
Inside Film 2013 61 mins
Jack Nicholson, Boris Karloff, Francis Coppola and making movies in five days – prepare yourself for Corman wisdom.