 Princess Royal participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight a month after the war began and then was sent south to the Caribbean to prevent the German East Asia Squadron from using the Panama Canal . After the East Asia Squadron was sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914 by the Invincible and Inflexible , Princess Royal rejoined the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron ( BCS ) . During the Battle of Dogger Bank she scored only a few hits , although one crippled the German armoured cruiser Blücher which allowed the enemy vessel to be caught and sunk by the concentrated fire of the British battlecruisers . Shortly afterwards , Princess Royal became the flagship of the 1st BCS , under the command of Rear Admiral Osmond Brock . She was then moderately damaged during the Battle of Jutland and required a month and a half of repairs afterwards . 
