| 1840 | Newly-formed Royal Mail Steam Packet Company signs a contract
with the UK Admiralty for shipping mail overseas |
| 1851 | Teviot departs from Southampton, inaugurating the
first Royal Mail sailing from the port to Brazil |
| 1869 | A direct service from Southampton to the River Plate (east
coast of South America) begins and lasts for a century |
| 1903 | Lord Kylsant elected chairman of the company. He negotiated a
new charter, allowing the company to begin expanding |
| 1904 | Solent is the company`s first ship to be dedicated to
passenger cruises |
| 1910 | The company expands by taking over other operators, including
Union-Castle, Elder Dempster and Lamport & Holt |
| 1919 | The group buys many of the cargo ship under construction after
the First World War, to replace over 100 ships it lost |
| 1927 | Royal Mail buys White Star Line, making it the largest shipping
group in the world |
| 1931 | Company chairman Lord Kylsant is arrested and jailed for
misleading shareholders. The UK government intervenes to stop the
company collapsing. To continue shipping operations, a new company
- Royal Mail Lines Ltd - is created |
| 1950s | Ten new cargo liners are ordered. Along with other ships bought
after the Second World War, this re-establishes Royal Mail as a
major liner operator to North, Central and South America |
| 1965 | Furness Withy & Co buys Royal Mail Lines |
| 1969 | Aragon and Arlanza are sold to Shaw,
Savill and Albion, ending transport of mail by the company |
| 1969 | Liner Andes is broken up, marking the end of 130
years of passenger transport by sea |
