HMY Alexandra was a steamship built as a British royal yacht, completed in 1908. Normally transporting Britain's royal family to European ports, Alexandra served as a hospital ship during the First World War. After 17 years of British service, she was sold to Norwegian commercial interests in 1925. Renamed Prins Olav, she was first used as a luxury cruise ship on trips to the North Cape, she was converted to take more passengers and cargo. In 1937 she began sailing as a Hurtigruten passenger/cargo ship along the coast of Norway. After being requisitioned by the Norwegian government following the 9 April 1940 German invasion of Norway, she transported troops for the Norwegian war effort. Prins Olav was sunk by German bombers on 9 June 1940, while attempting to escape to the United Kingdom as the Norwegian Campaign was coming to an end. Background Alexandra was intended to supplement the larger British royal yacht Victoria and Albert, which had proven too large and unwieldy to carry out all her tasks satisfactorily. The contract for Alexandras construction was the first for a royal yacht to be given through open competition, the assignment going to the experienced River Clyde shipbuilders A. & J. Inglis. The new ship was named for Queen Alexandra, the consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Construction Alexandra had yard number 280 and was launched on 30 May 1907 in Glasgow, Scotland. The ship's sponsor was Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, Edward VII's sister. Completed in April 1908, Alexandra had a gross register tonnage of 2,113 tons, and a net register tonnage of 1,135 tons. She could achieve a speed of with her three Parsons turbines giving 4,035 ihp. She was long between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . The ship featured a clipper bow, two funnels and three masts. British service On her maiden voyage in June 1908, Alexandra struck a lock in the Kiel Canal, damaging her propeller. In her service as a royal yacht, Alexandra was crewed by the Royal Navy. The ship often carried Edward VII on holidays to Biarritz and the Mediterranean, or to Germany. During the First World War Alexandra was used as a hospital ship. Following the First World War, Alexandra was rarely used, and was decommissioned in June 1922. Norwegian career In May 1925 she was sold to the Norwegian shipping company Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab (NFDS) in