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The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle fought between the Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland in Denmark. It was the largest naval battle of the the war. The German plan was to use their fast scouting group of battlecruisers to draw Vice-Admiral Beatty’s battlecruiser squadron onto the main German fleet and there destroy them. The two opposing forces met on the afternoon of 31^st May 1916. A running battle ensued, during which the Royal Navy lost two battlecruisers, until the main German fleet was seen.  At this point Beatty’s battlecruiser squadron turned back and brought the pursuing German ships towards the main British fleet of Admiral Jellicoe. That night these two main fleets of 250 ships engaged each other twice before the Germans, recognising that they were outnumbered, broke off the engagement and returned to port. Both sides claimed victory. The British lost more ships (14) and three time as many sailors (6,000), but the Germans never brought out their main fleet again, preferring to concentrate on submarine warfare. Over 500 of those who were killed were men from London.

The armoured Cruiser, HMS Black Prince was part of the 1^st Cruiser Squadron attached to the main body of the Grand Fleet. She was sunk during the Battle of Jutland where she was deployed as part of a screening force operating a number of miles in front of the main fleet. By late afternoon on 31^st May she had lost contact with the rest of the British fleet and the circumstances of her sinking remained unknown. However, German reports claim that HMS Black Prince came across a line of German ships at midnight and it was these that destroyed her with their combined gunfire. All 857 of her crew were killed.