Admiralty

This article is about the naval armed forces of the United Kingdom. For information on maritime law, see admiralty law.

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The Admiralty (officially Lords Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral) or the Board of the Admiralty is a division of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence overseeing the affairs of the Royal Navy.

The office of 'Admiral of England', or 'Lord Admiral' and later 'Lord High Admiral' was created in approximately 1400. In 1546 King Henry VIII established the 'Council of the Marine' later to became the 'Navy Board' to oversee administrative affairs of the naval service. Operational control of the Navy remained the responsibility of the 'Lord High Admiral'.

In 1628, Charles I put the office of 'Lord High Admiral' into commission and control of the Royal Navy passed to a committee in the form of 'the Board of the Admiralty'. Control of the Navy was passed to and from the board and the 'Lord High Admiral' a number of times until 1709 when the powers of the 'Lord High Admiral' were legally enshrined in 'the Board of the Admiralty' and its ministerial president the 'First Lord of the Admiralty'.

In 1831 the Navy Board was abolished as a separate entity and its duties and responsibilities were given over to the Admiralty. In 1964 the Admiralty was subsumed into the Ministry of Defence along with the War Office[?] and the Air Ministry.

Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Lord High Admirals, 1413-1628 2 Lord High Admirals and First Lords of the Admiralty, 1628-1709 3 First Lords of the Admiralty, 1709-1964 4 Admirals of the Fleet, 1795-1827 5 First Sea Lords, 1828-Present

Lord High Admirals, 1413-1628

• Thomas Beafort, Earl of Dorset, Duke of Exeter (1416) 1413 - 1426 (Lord High Admiral)
• John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford 1426 - 1435 (Lord High Admiral)
• John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, Duke of Exeter (1444) 1435 - 1447 (Lord High Admiral)
• William de la Pole, Marquess of Suffolk 1447 - 1450
• Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter 1450 - 1461
• William Neville, Earl of Kent 1462
• Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1462 - 1470
• Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick 1470 - 1471
• Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1471 - 1483
• John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk 1483 - 1485
• John de Vere, Earl of Oxford 1485 - 1513
• Sir Edward Howard 1513
• Thomas Howard, Lord Howard, Earl of Surrey (1514), 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1524) 1513 - 1525
• Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond 1525 - 1536
• William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton (1537) 1536 - 1540
• John Russell, Lord Russell 1540 - 1542
• Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford 1542 - 1543
• John Dudley, Viscount Lisle 1543 - 1547
• Thomas Seymour, Lord Seymour 1547 - 1549
• Thomas Dudley, Earl of Warwick[?] 1549 - 1550
• Edward Clinton, Lord Clinton 1550 - 1554
• William Howard, 1st Lord Howard of Effingham 1554 - 1558
• Edward Clinton, Lord Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln (1572) 1558 - 1585
• Charles Howard, 2nd Lord Howard of Effingham[?], 1st Earl of Nottingham (1597) 1585 - 1619
• George Villiers, 1st Marquess of Buckingham, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1623) 1619 - 1628

Lord High Admirals and First Lords of the Admiralty, 1628-1709

• Richard Weston, Lord Weston, 1st Earl of Portland (1633) (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1628 - 1635
• Robert Bertie, Earl of Lindsey (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1635 - 1636
• William Juxon, Bishop of Lincoln (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1636 - 1638
• Algernon Percy, Earl of Northumberland (Lord High Admiral to 1642, then First Lord of the Admiralty) 1638 - 1643
• Francis Cottington, Lord Cottington 1643 - 1646
• none 1646-1660
• James Stuart, Duke of York and Albany (Lord High Admiral) 1660 - 1673
• King Charles II (Lord High Admiral) 1673
• Prince Rupert of the Palatinate[?], 1st Duke of Cumberland (Lord High Admiral) 1673 - 1679
• Sir Henry Capell (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1679 - 1681
• Daniel Finch, Lord Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham (1682) (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1681 - 1684
• King Charles II (Lord High Admiral) 1684 - 1685
• King James II (Lord High Admiral) 1685 - 1688
• Prince William of Orange, King William III (1689) (Lord High Admiral) 1688 - 1689
• Arthur Herbert (Lord High Admiral to 1689, then First Lord of the Admiralty) 1689 - 1690
• Thomas Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1690 - 1692
• Charles Cornwallis, Lord Cornwallis of Eye (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1692 - 1693
• Anthony Carey, Viscount of Falkland (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1693 - 1694
• Edward Russell, Earl of Orford (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1694 - 1699
• John Egerton, Earl of Brigwater (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1699 - 1701
• Thomas Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (Lord High Admiral) 1701 - 1702
• Prince George of Denmark[?] (Lord High Admiral) 1702 - 1708
• Queen Anne (Lord High Admiral) 1708
• Thomas Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (Lord High Admiral) 1708 - 1709

First Lords of the Admiralty, 1709-1964

• Edward Russell, Earl of Orford 1709 - 1710
• Sir John Leake 1710 - 1712
• Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford 1712 - 1714
• Edward Russell, Earl of Orford 1714 - 1717
• James Berkeley, Earl of Berkeley 1717 - 1727
• George Byng, Viscount Torrington 1727 - 1733
• Sir Charles Wager 1733 - 1742
• Daniel Finch, Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham 1742 - 1744
• John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford 1744 - 1748
• John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich 1748 - 1751
• George Anson, Lord Anson 1751 - 1756
• Richard Grenville, Earl Temple 1756 - 1757
• Daniel Finch, Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham 1757
• George Anson, Lord Anson 1757 - 1762
• George Montague-Dunk, Earl of Halifax 1762
• Geogre Grenville[?] 1763
• John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich 1763
• John Perceval, Earl of Egmont 1763 - 1766
• Sir Charles Saunders 1766
• Sir Edward Hawke 1766 - 1771
• John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich 1771 - 1782
• Augustus Keppel, Viscount Keppel 1782 - 1783
• Richard Howe, 1st Viscount Howe[?] 1783
• Augustus Keppel, Viscount Keppel 1783
• Richard Howe, 1st Viscount Howe[?] 1783 - 1788
• John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham 1788 - 1794
• George Spencer, Earl Spencer 1794 - 1801
• John Jervis[?], 1st Earl of St. Vincent 1801 - 1804
• Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville 1804 - 1805
• Sir Charles Middleton, 1st Lord Barham (1805) 1805 - 1806
• Charles Grey, Viscount Howick 1806
• Thomas Grenville 1806 - 1807
• Henry Phipps, Lord Mulgrave 1807 - 1810
• Charles Philip Yorke 1810 - 1812
• Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville 1812 - 1827
• HRH The Duke of Clarence (Lord High Admiral) 1827 - 1828
• Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville 1828 - 1830
• Sir James Graham 1830 - 1834
• George Eden, Lord Auckland 1834
• Thomas Robinson, Earl de Grey 1834 - 1835
• George Eden, Lord Auckland 1835
• Gilbert Elliot-Kynynmound, Earl of Minto 1835 - 1841
• Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Haddington 1841 - 1846
• Edward Law, Earl of Ellenborough 1846
• George Eden, Earl of Auckland 1846 - 1849
• Sir Francis Thornhill Baring 1849 - 1852
• Algernon Percy, Duke of Northumberland 1852
• Sir James Graham 1852 - 1855
• Sir Charles Wood 1855 - 1858
• Sir John Pakington 1858 - 1859
• Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset 1859 - 1866
• Sir John Pakington 1866 - 1867
• Henry Thomas Lowry Corry 1867 - 1868
• Hugh Culling Eardley Childers 1868 - 1871
• George Joachim Goschen[?] 1871 - 1874
• George Ward Hunt 1874 - 1877
• William Henry Smith 1877 - 1880
• Thomas George Barint, 1st Earl of Northbrook[?] 1880 - 1885
• Lord George Hamilton 1885 - 1886
• George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon 1886
• Lord George Hamilton 1886 - 1892
• John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer 1892 - 1895
• George Joachim Goschen 1895 - 1900
• William Waldegrave Palmer, Earl of Selborne 1900 - 1905
• Frederick Archibald Campbell, Earl Cawdor 1905
• Edward Marjoribanks, Lord Tweedmouth 1905 - 1908
• Reginald McKenna 1908 - 1911
• Winston Churchill 1911 - 1915
• Arthur James Balfour 1915 - 1916
• Sir Edward Carson 1916 - 1917
• Sir Eric Geddes 1917 - 1919
• Walter Hume Long 1919 - 1921
• Arthur Hamilton Lee, Lord Lee of Fareham 1921 - 1922
• Leopold Charles Amery 1922 - 1924
• William Clive Bridgeman 1924
• Frederick Napier Thesiger, Viscount Chelmsford 1924 - 1929
• Albert Victor Alexander 1929 - 1931
• Sir Austen Chamberlain 1931
• Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell (1935) 1931 - 1936
• Sir Samuel Hoare[?] 1936 - 1937
• Alfred Duff Cooper[?] 1937 - 1938
• James Stanhope, Earl Stanhope 1938 - 1939
• Winston Churchill 1939 - 1940
• Albert Victor Alexander 1940 - 1945
• Brendan Bracken 1945
• Albert Victor Alexander 1945 - 1946
• George Hall, Viscount Hall 1946 - 1951
• Francis Aungier Pakenham, Lord Pakenham 1951
• James Purdon Lewes Thomas, Viscount Cilcennan (1955) 1951 - 1956
• Quintin McGarel Hogg, Viscount Hailsham 1956 - 1957
• George Douglas-Hamilton, Earl of Selkirk 1957 - 1959
• Peter Carrington, 10th Baron Carington, 1959-1963[?]

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Admirals of the Fleet, 1795-1827

• Richard Howe, Earl Howe 1795-1799
• Sir Peter Parker 1799-1811
• Prince William, Duke of Clarence 1811-1827

First Sea Lords, 1828-Present

• Sir George Cockburn 1828-1830
• Sir Thomas Hardy 1830-1834
• Sir George Dundas 1834
• Sir Charles Adam 1834
• Sir George Cockburn 1834-1835
• Sir Charles Adam 1835-1841
• Sir George Cockburn 1841-1846
• Sir William Parker 1846
• Sir Charles Adam 1846-1847
• Sir James Dundas 1847-1852
• Maurice Fitzhardinge-Berkeley, Baron Fitzhardinge 1852
• Hyde Parker 1852-1854
• Baron Fitzhardinge 1854-1857
• Sir Richard Dundas 1857-1858
• Sir William Martin 1858-1859
• Sir Richard Dundas 1859-1861
• Sir Frederick Grey 1861-1866
• Sir Alexander Milne 1866-1868
• Sir Sydney Dacres 1868-1872
• Sir Alexander Milne 1872-1876
• Sir Hastings Yelverston 1876-1877
• Sir George Wellesley 1877-1879
• Sir Astley Cooper-Key 1879-1885
• Arthur Hood, Baron Hood of Avalon 1885-1886
• Sir John Hay 1886
• Baron Hood of Avalon 1886-1889
• Sir Vesey Hamilton 1889-1891
• Sir Anthony Hoskins 1891-1893
• Sir Frederick Richards 1893-1899
• Lord Walter Kerr 1899-1904
• Sir John Fisher 1904-1910
• Sir Arthur Wilson 1910-1911
• Sir Francis Bridgeman 1911-1912
• Prince Louis of Battenberg[?] 1912-1914
• Sir John Fisher 1914-1915
• Sir Henry Jackson 1915-1916
• John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe 1916-1917
• Rosslyn Wemyss, Baron Wester Wemyss of Wemyss 1917-1919
• David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty of the North Sea and Brooksby 1919-1927
• Sir Charles Madden 1927-1930
• Sir Frederick Field 1930-1933
• Ernle Chatfield, Baron Chatfield 1933-1938
• Sir Roger Backhouse 1938-1939
• Sir Dudley Pound 1939-1943
• Andrew Cunningham, Viscount Cunningham of Hyundhope 1943-1946
• Sir John Cunningham 1946-1948
• Bruce Fraser, Baron Fraser of North Cape 1948-1951
• Sir Rhoderick McGrigor 1951-1955
• Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1955-1959
• Sir Charles Lambe 1959-1960
• Sir Caspar John 1960-1963
• Sir David Luce 1963-1966
• Sir Varyl Begg 1966-1968
• Sir Michael Lefanu 1968-1970
• Peter Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton of South Nuffield 1970-1971
• Sir Michael Pollock 1971-1974
• Sir Edward Ashmore 1974-1977
• Terence Lewin, Baron Lewin of Greenwich 1977-1979
• Sir Henry Leach 1979-1982
• John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse 1982-1985
• Sir William Staveley 1985-1989
• Sir Julian Oswald 1989-1993
• Sir Benjamin Bathurst 1993-1995
• Sir Jock Slater 1995-1998
• Sir Michael Boyce 1998-2001
• Sir Nigel Essenhigh 2001-2002
• Sir Alan West 2002-present