King established the Plymouth-based business in 1965 and remained involved for more than six decades. Although he had stepped back from its daily management, he continued working with development teams and contributing to future yacht programs until recently.
Project 31 and the Origins of Princess Yachts
Born in Dundee in 1942, King studied engineering at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, while serving in the Royal Navy. His naval education gave him the technical grounding that later shaped his approach to motor yacht construction.
In 1965, King and two friends rented a modest waterside shed in Plymouth and established Marine Projects. The original plan was to operate a charter business, but difficulty securing deposits led the partners to sell the boat they were building. That first boat, Project 31, was sold for £3,400. Only afterward did the founders discover that it had cost £3,460 to produce. Two more boats had already been ordered, leaving the partners unexpectedly committed to boatbuilding. The company subsequently produced around 150 examples of the 31ft model by 1969.
The story remained one of King’s favorite accounts of Princess’s beginnings. He used it as a reminder that progress depended on learning from mistakes and making each subsequent boat better.
Investment in People, Production and Apprenticeships
Britain’s specialist marine supply chain was still developing during the company’s early years. Many of the skills required to build increasingly complex motor yachts were therefore established within Marine Projects itself.
King invested in engineering, design, manufacturing and traditional trades at the Plymouth facilities. That approach helped Princess become one of the more vertically integrated production yacht builders, with a large proportion of each boat manufactured and finished in-house. He also supported apprenticeship programs and relationships with local educational institutions. Princess says those programs helped preserve specialist boatbuilding skills while creating skilled employment across Plymouth and southwest England.
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King maintained the company’s manufacturing base in Plymouth during a period when other British businesses were moving production overseas. Princess later grew into one of the city’s largest private-sector employers while supporting a wider network of regional suppliers.
The Princess 45 Opens International Markets
The company’s international standing grew during the 1980s. A central model in that expansion was the Princess 45, launched in 1982 as the largest production motor yacht then built in the United Kingdom.
Its commercial success opened new export markets and demonstrated that a British production builder could compete internationally at the larger end of the motor yacht sector. By the early 1990s, exports represented more than 60% of production. Princess received the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1988.
Today, the builder exports around 90% of its production to more than 100 countries, according to the official Princess tribute published following King’s death.
Successive generations of yachts widened the company’s reach, from sports models such as the Princess V50 to larger flybridge yachts. The current Princess Y80 represents the yard’s established Y Class format, while the Princess X80 belongs to the high-volume X Class introduced later in the company’s history.
Will Green Remembers a Founder and Mentor
Despite receiving several lifetime achievement awards, King regularly redirected attention toward Princess employees. Colleagues described him as curious, modest and deeply interested in how the company’s yachts could be improved.
King owned and operated Princess yachts himself, giving him direct experience of how the boats functioned away from the shipyard. He remained part of the model development process long after retiring as chairman and continued discussing new ideas with designers and engineers.
Princess CEO Will Green described King as both the company’s founder and a personal mentor.
For many people, it is difficult to think of Princess without thinking of David. That says everything about the contribution he made over more than six decades, but it only tells part of the story.”
- Will Green, Princess CEO
Green said King never sought personal credit for Princess’s growth and was quick to recognize the work of designers, engineers, craftspeople and other employees. King’s support also extended beyond the shipyard. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, he arranged for Princess personnel and boat molds to be sent to Sri Lanka, helping affected communities rebuild fishing boats.
New Yacht Programs Take Princess Forward
King’s death comes during another important period for the company he founded. Princess returned to profitability following an operational turnaround and is investing in several new yacht programs across its Plymouth facilities.
The first Princess X90 has completed initial sea trials ahead of its planned world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival. The model uses a new Hybrid Progressive-Planing hull developed with Olesinski and extends the X Class approach to interior volume and upper-deck living.
Princess is also preparing the C48, its first outboard-powered yacht and first production model built around a stepped hull. The new F54 and S74 are progressing through development, while the Odyssey 106 will return the builder to the market above 30m.
“David always looked to the future,” Green said. “I believe the greatest tribute we can pay him is to continue the work he cared so deeply about.”
Princess Yachts has extended its condolences to King’s wife, family and loved ones.
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