Like all ships of the class (apart from HMS King Edward VII) she was named after an important part of the British Empire.

By the end of the year, the Grand Fleet stopped operating with the older 3rd Battle Squadron ships, and in November 1915, Zealandia was detached to serve in the Gallipoli Campaign.

The campaign ended shortly thereafter, however, and so Zealandia returned to Britain in January 1916 and rejoined the 3rd Battle Squadron in March.

The new ships, though based on the general Majestic type that had formed the basis of the preceding four battleship designs, marked the first significant change in the series.

The King Edward VII-class ships were powered by a pair of 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines that drove two screws, with steam provided by sixteen water-tube boilers.

The King Edward VII-class ships had a top speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) from 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000 kW).

[3] As was customary for battleships of the period, she was also equipped with five 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in the hull; two were on each broadside, with the fifth in the stern.

That year, the ship underwent a refit that included the installation of new fire control equipment and searchlights.

[7] Upon the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the 3rd Battle Squadron, at the time under the command of Vice Admiral Edward Bradford, was assigned to the Grand Fleet and based at Rosyth, where it was reinforced with the five Duncan-class battleships,[8][9] It was used to supplement the Grand Fleet's cruisers on the Northern Patrol.

[7] On 6 August, the day after Britain declared war on Germany, elements of the Grand Fleet sortied to inspect the coast of Norway in search of a German naval base violating Norwegian neutrality.

Four hours later, they met the 1st and 4th Battle Squadrons, en route from Scapa Flow, though they failed to reach the German High Seas Fleet before the latter withdrew.

The Grand Fleet remained at sea until late on 17 December, at which point the 3rd Battle Squadron was ordered back to Rosyth.

[15] On 23 January, the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons sortied to ambush the German I Scouting Group in what resulted in the Battle of Dogger Bank the following day.

The 3rd Battle Squadron patrolled the area with the rest of the Grand Fleet over the night before being detached at 08:00 on 25 January to steam to Rosyth.

The fleet went to sea again on 29 May for a patrol south to the Dogger Bank before returning to port on 31 May, again without having located any German vessels.

[18] On 6 November 1915, a division of the 3rd Battle Squadron, consisting of the battleships Zealandia, Hibernia (the flagship), Russell, and Albemarle, was detached from the Grand Fleet to serve in the Gallipoli Campaign.

Albemarle had to return for repairs, assisted by Hibernia and accompanied by Zealandia, after suffering severe damage in heavy seas on the first night of the outbound voyage.

In late January 1916, Zealandia and Hibernia left the eastern Mediterranean to return to the United Kingdom, arriving at Portsmouth Dockyard on 6 February 1916.

[19][20] On 29 April 1916, the 3rd Battle Squadron was rebased at Sheerness, and on 3 May 1916 it was separated from the Grand Fleet, being transferred to the Nore Command.

Zealandia was placed on the disposal list on 2 June 1919, and on 8 November 1921 she was sold for scrapping to Stanlee Shipbreaking Company.