This was bestowed by King George IV after he was taken by the hospitality shown by the people of Ramsgate when he used the harbour to depart and return with the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1821.

[4] Because of its proximity to mainland Europe, Ramsgate was a chief embarkation point both during the Napoleonic Wars and for the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

From 1993 to 1997, Oostende Lines moved their operation from the Port of Dover to Ramsgate, before the state-owned company was closed, selling most of its assets to TransEuropa Ferries.

[6] Hoverlloyd ran a crossing from Ramsgate Harbour to Calais from 6 April 1966 using small, passenger-only SR.N6 hovercraft.

[15] The lighthouse situated on the West harbour arm was built in 1842 and is 11m high; it is a Grade II listed building.

[19] It replaced an earlier lighthouse by Benjamin Dean Wyatt, which had been poorly positioned and suffered damage from passing ships.

The new and prized boat had been built in accordance with the plans of a model that had been the prize-winner in the 1851 national competition for the best design for such a craft.

While RMT's Prins Filip was docked and loading vehicles and passengers, and getting readied for the voyage to Ostend in Belgium, the walkway collapsed, causing the deaths of six people and seriously injuring seven more.

The investigation into the accident revealed that the same basic miscalculation had been made by both the designer (Swedish firm FKAB, a subsidiary of the Mattson Group) and certifying organisation Lloyd's Register.