His Majesty's Canadian Ship

The designation Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) (in French Navire Canadien de Sa Majesté [NCSM]), is applied as a prefix to any Canadian Forces warship. In the reign of a king, the designation changes to His Majesty's Canadian Ship; the French version of the title remains unchanged in this instance. The title is derived from Her Majesty's Ship (HMS), used in the United Kingdom. The person who is monarch of Canada is also equally and separately the monarch of the UK.

HMCS Rainbow, transferred from the British Royal Navy to Royal Canadian Navy in 1910, was the first ship to be so designated. Ships bearing this designation are the ships of Her Majesty's Canadian Armed Forces and are the responsibility of the Canadian Forces Maritime Command.

Many major Canadian Forces naval shore facilities also bear the designation, such as HMCS Trinity, HMCS Naden, HMCS Discovery, and all Royal Canadian Sea Cadets summer training centres, such as HMCS Quadra. HMC Dockyard is an exception to this rule.

Many other Commonwealth realms use a variation of HMS to designate their warships, such as HMAS (Her Majesty's Australian Ship) and HMNZS (Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship).

See also