[3][4] Constance was one of nine ship class of steel corvettes built in the late 1870s and early 1880s to an 1876 design by Nathaniel Barnaby.

[2] Constance further differed from her sisters in having feathering rather than hoisting screws, a feature she shared only with HMS Carysfort.

The Comus-class ships had steel hulls clad with two layers of teak, while their bottoms were sheathed with copper.

They marked a dramatic step forward in basic habitability, with improved below-decks ventilation, a sick bay, bathroom for ratings and even a ship's library.

[13] Appointments to Constance in September 1882 included midshipman Charles Vaughan-Lee,[14] and Captain Frederic Proby Doughty.

Nearly 100 sailors were involved, with a number of them being arrested by local and military police, assisted by reinforcements sent from the Dockyard.

A speed of 13.71 knots (25.39 km/h) was achieved, which was in excess of that specified by the Admiralty when the contract for building Constance was granted.

[12] Constance departed under the command of Captain Proby Doughty on 19 December, bound for the Pacific in order to relieve Thetis.

[21] By September 1883, Constance was on station at Guayaquil, Ecuador, where she was to relieve HMS Comus in patrolling the coasts of Chile and Peru.

[22] Constance arrived at Honolulu, Hawaii on 13 April 1884, and then departed for Victoria, British Columbia.

She departed San Francisco on 1 August 1885 bound for Coquimbo, Chile via Honolulu, Raratonga, the Hervey Islands and Tahiti.

[25] In August 1885, it was reported that Constance was to be relieved by HMS Conquest, and was to return to the Medway for decommissioning.

[39] In December, it was reported that as there was no intention to return Constance to service at the time, new guns allocated to her would instead be installed on HMS Satellite.