Malta, a part of the British Empire since 1814, was used as a shipping waystation and headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet until the mid-1930s.

In 1893, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon drowned as flagship HMS Victoria sank within fifteen minutes of a collision with HMS Camperdown.

Of the three original Invincible class battlecruisers which entered service in the first half of 1908, two (HMS Inflexible and (HMS Indomitable) joined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1914. They and HMS Indefatigable formed the nucleus of the fleet at the start of World War I when British forces pursued German ships Goeben and Breslau.

A recently-modernised HMS Warspite became the flagship of Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet in 1926.

The fleet was moved to Alexandria, Egypt just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War due to the perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland, a decision which would prove to be costly during the Siege of Malta but which would ensure the continuing safety of the Fleet to enable a sustained fight against the Axis forces.

Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham took command of the fleet in 1939 and in 1940 successfully attacked the World War II Italian Fleet at Taranto.

Ships of the Fleet took part in the Suez War against Egypt in 1956.

The Mediterranean Fleet has since been disbanded though the Royal Navy maintains a presence with the deployment of a warship to the NATO multi-national squadron Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED). The Navy also usually provides a warship to the NATO Mine Countermeasures Force (South) .

Ships which have served in the British Mediterranean Fleet include:

• HMS Agincourt (D86)
• HMS Aisne (D22)
• HMS Alamein (D17)
• HMS Barrosa (D68)
• HMS Camperdown (D32)
• HMS Ceylon (C30)
• HMS Colossus (1882)
• HMS Emperor of India
• HMS Euryalus (42)
• HMS Finisterre (D55)
• HMS Goliath
• HMS Gravelines (D24)
• HMS Hogue (D74)
• HMS Jutland (D62)
• HMS Lagos (D44)
• HMS Norfolk
• HMS Revenge
• HMS Saintes
• HMS Trafalgar
• HMS Triumph
• HMS Warspite