It was The Queen who said: “May God bless her and all who sail in her,” as she commissioned Britain’s latest warship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, in 2014.

But now the tradition of referring to boats as "she" or "her" is under threat after centuries of naval history.

On Tuesday it emerged that a British maritime museum has begun referring to ships it exhibits as "it" in a bid to appear more gender neutral.

The decision taken by the Scottish Maritime Museum near Troon was sparked by vandals. Twice in four months, references to boats as "she" have been scratched out of information signs, forcing the charity’s director to scrap the gender-specific term altogether.

A 19th century steam yacht called ‘Rifle’, which once carried Queen Victoria across Loch Arkaig while she was visiting Inverlochy castle in 1873, had its display signs defaced last week in the latest attack.