Royal Charter was a steam clipper which was wrecked off the beach of Porth Helaeth[1] in Dulas Bay on the northeast coast of Anglesey, Wales on 26 October 1859.

Off Point Lynas Royal Charter tried to pick up the Liverpool pilot, but the wind had now risen to Storm force 10 on the Beaufort scale and the rapidly rising sea made this impossible.

During the night of 25/26 October the wind rose to Hurricane force 12 on the Beaufort Scale in what became known as the "Royal Charter Storm".

Despite cutting the masts to reduce the drag of the wind, Royal Charter was driven inshore, with the steam engines unable to make headway against the gale.

One member of the crew managed to swim ashore with a line, enabling a few people to be rescued, and a few others were able to struggle to shore through the surf.

Many of the bodies recovered from the sea were buried nearby at St Gallgo's Church, Llanallgo, where the graves and a memorial can still be seen.

[citation needed] Exactly a century later (to the day) in October 1959 another ship, the Hindlea, struck the rocks in almost the same spot in another gale.

Gold sovereigns, pistols, spectacles and other personal items have been found by scuba divers by chance over the years.

[7] Vincent Thurkettle, a prospector from Norfolk, found in 2012 what is Britain's biggest gold nugget while scouring the waters just off Anglesey.

[8] American folk singer Tom Russell recorded a song about the wreck of the Royal Charter, "Isaac Lewis" on the 2003 album Modern Art.

American folksingers William Pint and Felicia Dale covered the song "Isaac Lewis" on their 2017 album Midnight on the Sea.