The Lord High Admiral (of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

beginning in the 14th century, later of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and then the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

) is the ceremonial head of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. Most have been courtiers or members of British royal family, and not professional naval officers. The office of Lord High Admiral is one of the nine English

Great Officers of State Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the Royal Household, from which the officers of state arose, initially having household and government duties. Later some of these officers became ...

History

In 1385 Edward, Earl of Rutland, was appointed Admiral of England, uniting the offices of

Admiral of the North The Admiral of the North also known as Admiral of the Northern Seas and Admiral of the Northern Fleet was a senior English Navy appointment. The Admiral was chiefly responsible for the command of the navy's fleet that operated in the North Sea ...

and

Admiral of the West The Admiral of the West, also known as Admiral of the Western Seas or Admiral of the Western Fleet, was formerly an English Navy appointment. The postholder was chiefly responsible for the command of the English navy's fleet based at Portsmouth, ...

, dating from 1294. From 1388 the offices of Admiral of the North and of the West were again distinct, though often held by the same man, until "Admirals of England" were appointed continuously from 1406. The titles "High Admiral" and "Lord Admiral" were both used, eventually combining in "Lord High Admiral". The Lord High Admiral did not originally have command at sea, but had jurisdiction over maritime affairs and the authority to establish courts of Admiralty. During the reign of Henry VIII (1509–47) the

English Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...

had expanded to a point where it could not be managed by a single Lord High Admiral alone, therefore day-to-day management of the navy was handed over to a committee that later became known as the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

. The navy board had

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

as one of its members during the reign of Charles II (1660–85), and it ran side-by-side with the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

. From the early 17th century onwards, when an individual Lord High Admiral was appointed, there was also a Council of the Lord High Admiral which assisted him to perform some of the duties of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. When this office was not occupied by an individual, it was "put into commission" and exercised by a

headed by a

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

; this was the usual arrangement from 1709 until it was merged with the

in 1832. However, the office of Lord High Admiral, which—except for brief periods during its long history—had remained extant, was not abolished as an official naval post until 1964. In 1964, the office of

was also abolished and the functions of the

Lords Commissioners of Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

were transferred to the new

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

becoming a sub-committee (Navy) of the tri-service

Defence Council of the United Kingdom The Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the body legally entrusted with the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories and with control over the British armed forces, and is part of the Ministry of Defence. Functions Prior ...

. The ancient title of Lord High Admiral was resumed, by the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

personally.

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

held the title for the next 47 years, until in 2011 she conferred the office upon her husband,

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

to celebrate his 90th birthday. Philip had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, but gave up a promising naval career to support Elizabeth as her consort.

Current status

Upon Prince Philip's death in 2021, the holder of the office became obscure. It is unknown whether the office of Lord High Admiral reverted back to the Crown, or if it is currently vacant, in which case it remains as such until His Majesty either assumes it, or grants it upon someone else. The

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

had confirmed they did not hold information on the issue, but suggested it had been resumed by the then Queen in right of the Crown. Upon Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022, the office was reported to have been passed to King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

List of High Admirals

High Admirals of England, Ireland 1385–1512

Lord Admirals of England, 1512–1638

Lord High Admirals of England, 1638–1707

Lord High Admirals of Great Britain, 1707–1800

Before 1707 there was an office of

Lord High Admiral of Scotland The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Officers of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707. The office was one of considerable power, also known as ''Royal Scottish Admiralty'', including command ...

. Following the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the t ...

, all jurisdictions were placed under the office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain.

Lord High Admirals of the United Kingdom, 1801–present

Former command flags

Tudor period

File:Royal Standard of England (1554–1558).svg, First command Flag of the Lord Admiral of England (1554–1558) under Mary I and Philip II when on board a ship. File:Royal Standard of England (1406-1603).svg, First command Flag of the Lord Admiral of England under Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I (1545–1553, 1559–1603) when on board a ship. File:Royal Standard of England (1603-1649).svg, First command Flag of the Lord Admiral of England (1603–1625) under James VI and I when on board a ship. File:Flag of England.svg, Second command Flag of the Lord Admiral of England (1545–1625) when on board a ship. The earliest known instructions given to the Lord Admiral to fly command flags were given by King Henry VIII in 1545 the Lord Admiral was ordered to fly the flag of the arms of the King on the top of the main masthead with the flag of the cross of Saint George on the top of the front (fore) masthead.

References

Sources

* Houbraken, Jacobus. Thoyras, Paul de Rapin. Vertue, George. (1747). The History of England, A List of Admirals of England (1224-1745). England. Kanpton. P and J. {{Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office Royal Navy Royal Navy appointments Lord High Admiral Lord High Admiral