| Post: | Lord High Admiral |
| Body: | the United Kingdom |
| Flag: | Flag of the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.svg |
| Flagsize: | 200px |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Lord High Admiral |
| Incumbent: | King Charles III |
| Incumbentsince: | 2022 |
| Type: | Great Officer of State |
| Appointer: | The Monarch |
| Termlength: | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| First: | The 3rd Earl of Arundel |
| Deputy: | Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom |
The Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom (of England beginning in the 14th century, later of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800)[1] is the ceremonial head of the Royal Navy. Most have been courtiers or members of the British royal family, and not professional naval officers. The Lord High Admiral is one of the nine English Great Officers of State and since 2021 is held personally by the reigning monarch (currently King Charles III).[2]
In 1385 Richard, Earl of Arundel, was appointed Admiral of England, reuniting the offices of Admiral of the North and Admiral of the West, separate 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.[3]
During the reign of Henry VIII (1509–47) the English Navy 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 had Samuel Pepys as one of its members during the reign of Charles II (1660–85), and it ran side-by-side with the Board of Admiralty.[3]
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. When this office was not occupied by an individual, it was "put into commission" and exercised by a Board of Admiralty headed by a First Lord of the Admiralty; this was the usual arrangement from 1709 until it was merged with the Admiralty in 1832.[3]
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.[3] In 1964, the office of First Lord of the Admiralty was also abolished and the functions of the Lords Commissioners of Admiralty were transferred to the new Admiralty Board becoming a sub-committee (Navy) of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom. The ancient title of Lord High Admiral was resumed, by the sovereign personally.[3]
Elizabeth II held the title for the next 47 years, until in 2011 she conferred the office upon her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to celebrate his 90th birthday.[4] Philip had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, but he gave up a promising naval career to support Elizabeth as her consort.[5]
Upon Prince Philip's death in 2021, the identity of the holder of the office became obscure, i.e., there has been no official announcement about the office's holder since then. 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 had confirmed they did not hold information on the issue, but suggested it had been resumed by Queen Elizabeth II in right of the Crown.[6] Upon Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022, the office was reported to have been passed to King Charles III.[7] The office is understood to be held by the Monarch (currently King Charles III) by default and can be granted to whomever is chosen by the Monarch.[2]
| High Admiral | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard FitzAlan, 4th Earl of Arundel | 1385 | 1388 | |
| Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York[8] | 1390 | 1397 | |
| John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset[9] | 1397 | 1398 | |
| Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester[10] | 1398 | 1400 | |
| Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence[11] | 1404 | 1405 | |
| John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset[12] | 1406 | 1407 | |
| Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent | 1407 | 1408 | |
| Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter | 1408 | 1426 | |
| John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford | 1426 | 1435 | |
| John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter | 1435 | 1447 | |
| William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk | 1447 | 1450 | |
| Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter | 1450 | 1460 | |
| Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick | 1461 | 1462 | |
| William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent | 1462 | 1462 | |
| Richard, Duke of Gloucester | 1462 | 1470 | |
| Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick | 1470 | 1471 | |
| Richard, Duke of Gloucester | 1471 | 1483 | |
| John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk | 1483 | 1485 | |
| John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford | 1485 | 1512 | |
| Lord Admiral | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Edward Howard | 1512 | 1513 | |
| Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey | 1513 | 1525 | |
| Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset | 1525 | 1536 | |
| William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton | 1536 | 1540 | |
| John Russell, Lord Russell | 1540 | 1542 | |
| John Dudley, Viscount Lisle | 1542 | 1546 | |
| Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley | 1546 | 1549 | |
| John Dudley Earl of Warwick | 1549 | 1550 | |
| Edward Clinton, Lord Clinton | 1550 | 1554 | |
| William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham | 1554 | 1558 | |
| Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln | 1558 | 1585 | |
| Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Earl of Nottingham | 1585 | 1619 | |
| George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham | 1619 | 1628 | |
| Lord High Admiral | Term of office | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland | 1638 | 1642 | ||
| Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington | 1643 | 1646 | ||
| James, Duke of York[13] | June 1660 | July 1673 | ||
| King Charles II | 1673 | 1673 | ||
| Prince Rupert, Duke of Cumberland | 1673 | 1679 | ||
| In commission: William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker Sir Thomas Lyttleton | 1679 | 1684 | ||
| King Charles II | May 1684 | 6 February 1685 | ||
| King James II | 6 February 1685 | 11 December 1688 | ||
| King William III | 1689 | 1689 | ||
| Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington | 1689 | 1689 | ||
| Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke | 26 January 1702 | 20 May 1702 | ||
| Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland | 20 May 1702 | 28 October 1708 | ||
Before 1707 there was an office of Lord High Admiral of Scotland. Following the Act of Union 1707, all jurisdictions were placed under the office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain.
| Lord High Admiral | Term of office | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland | 28 June 1707 | 28 October 1708 | ||||
| Queen Anne | 1708 | 1708 | ||||
| Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke | 1708 | 8 November 1709 | ||||
| Office in commission | scope=row style="text-align:center" | 8 November 1709 | scope=row style="text-align:center" | 1800 | ||
| Lord High Admiral | From | To | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office in commission | scope=row style="text-align:center" | 1801 | scope=row style="text-align:center" | 1827 | |
| Prince William, Duke of Clarence | 1827 | 1828 | |||
| Office in commission | scope=row style="text-align:center" | 1828 | scope=row style="text-align:center" | 1964 | |
| Queen Elizabeth II | 1964 | 2011 | |||
| Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh[14] | 2011 | 2021 | |||
| Queen Elizabeth II | 2021 | 2022 | |||
| King Charles III | 2022 | present | |||
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.[15]