HMS Thetis was an Apollo-class 2nd class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 December 1890. Her first significant mission was service in the Bering Sea Patrol with American warships in a combined effort to suppress poaching in the Bering Sea. Under the command of Captain W. Stokes-Rees, she later served on the Mediterranean Station until relieved in March 1901. She paid of at Chatham in early June 1901, and was placed in the Fleet reserve.