Abandoned royal shipwreck with 'millions of pounds worth of treasure' found off UK coast

A royal treasure ship that sank almost 400 years ago has been located off the coast of Scotland .

Members of a local historical group believe they have pinpointed the location of the 17th-century royal ship The Blessing of Burntisland in the Firth of Forth.

The 60ft timber ferry sank in 1633 carrying King Charles I 's possessions, shortly after he was crowned King of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The King was reportedly watching from his own flagship, the Dreadnought, as a sudden storm swallowed The Blessing and its crew. Only two of the 35 people on board survived.

It was carrying a gold, silver, and a 280-piece silver dining set commissioned by Henry VIII when it went under.

Its final resting place on the seabed has remained a mystery ever since - but Burntisland Heritage says it has found convincing new evidence that the ship is buried below a layer of silt, around one mile from the shore.

A new report from the team of local enthusiasts said they had visited the site and pulled a timber core sample, which along with scans from a subsea radar "now strongly point to the wreck being that of the Blessing".

Volunteers from Burntisland Heritage, a community group, believe they have found the remains.

It said in a report: "The royal cargo was reported to have been worth £100,000 at the time, a sum equivalent to several hundreds of millions today.

"A 30-year search for the vessel has now located what is believed to be the wreck of the Blessing, and work to retrieve items from the wreck is imminent." The items on board are thought to include a gold and silver dinner service commissioned by Henry VIII.

They have provided the timber sample to the UK Receiver of Wreck - the coastguard department responsible for dealing with shipwrecks.

It is hoped a specialist diving team can soon be sent down for further examination to conclusively establish the ship's identity and find out whether any treasure remains inside.

If proven, would mark one of the significant maritime archaeological discoveries in Scottish history - with the treasure on board worth £100,000 in the 17th century, equivalent to £30million today.

Burntisland Heritage’s role in locating the wreck could see it awarded a "substantial proportion" of the value of the treasure, local media reported.