Under Captain Adolphus FitzClarence the frigate spent time blockading the Azores before making trips to India and then Nova Scotia, conveying important passengers.

The ship sailed to the Mediterranean in 1830 under the command of Captain Manley Hall Dixon, and returned early the following year with the survivors of the wreck of the Countess of Harcourt.

[1][2] Designed by Surveyor of the Navy Sir William Rule, the Apollo class originally consisted of three ships constructed between 1798 and 1803.

The Royal Navy stopped ordering specifically large and offensively capable warships, and instead focused on standardised classes of ships that were usually more moderate in size, but through larger numbers would be able to effectively combat the expected increase in global economic warfare.

[5] The Apollo class became the standard frigate design for this task, alongside the Vengeur-class ship of the line and Cruizer-class brig-sloop.

[5] The Apollo class was chosen to fulfil the role of standardised frigate because of how well the lone surviving ship of the first batch, HMS Euryalus, had performed, providing "all-round excellence" according to naval historian Robert Gardiner.

[6] Trials of ships of the class showed that they were all capable of reaching around 12 knots (22 km/h) and were very well balanced, although prone to pitching deeply in heavy seas.

Pallas, in the former group of ships, was ordered on 19 March 1811 to be built by shipwright Robert Guillaume at Northam, Southampton.

Pallas was assigned as lead ship of a squadron sent to the Azores to stop the Liberals from succeeding in this plan, sailing on 16 December.

The ship departed on 20 July, first stopping at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, and then the Cape of Good Hope where she landed £35,000 of silver coin.

The frigate stayed in India for a month before embarking the retiring Commander-in-Chief, General Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere, for the return journey.

During the journey several animals were taken on board, including turtles, antelopes, a cheetah, elk, Angora goat, and Bengal tiger, the latter of which was tame enough to walk freely around Pallas's deck.

[18] Pallas sailed from Malta on 2 February 1831 carrying on board 235 survivors from the 90th Regiment of Foot who had been wrecked in the transport ship Countess of Harcourt.