Admiralship

Lord Admirals of the

Kingdom of England

This Naval History carries on from: "Richard Grenville"

History tells us that the word Admiral originated among the sand dunes and jebels of the desert. The Crusaders learned the term Amir-al during their encounters with the Arabs in the eleventh century.

In Arabic the word Amir-al means commander their highest rank. Adapted slightly the word Admiral has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank of most countries.

In 1600 when the Royal Navy was formed it was the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England; which later became the Royal Navy of Great Britain, and it is now known as the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.

In medievil England, the Lord High Admiral was the last of the nine great officers of State. The Lord High Admiral was a courtier; an advisor or companion to the King or Queen of the day, they had nothing to do with the running of the navy.

On a few occasions the Sovereign of the Realm took on this role. King Charles II had two spells one in 1673, and another in 1684. King James II was the next to do this in 1685, and King William III carried on in 1689.

The first Queen was Queen Anne in 1708, and Our present Queen Elizabeth is the current Lord High Admiral. And just like medievil times she has had, and still has nothing to do with the running of the Navy.

Richard Grenville

Englands first Naval Admiral

It was the great crisis of 1588 when Lord Howard of Effingham intervened, As Lord High Admiral he took partial control of some of the Queen's navy. Other than Drake who was then Vice-Admiral, this was the first attachment of an Admiral to the English Navy.

But we must remember that Drake was a courtier a close companion and advisor to the Queen, and therefore his position of Vice-Admiral was one of influence rather than Naval organisation.

It took some years after the formation of the Royal Navy for the Admiralty to form as a proper committee and to get professionally organised. This was something they had to learn and do because they were the first to be in this position, there were none before them.

In 1628 the First Lord of the Admiralty was the Earl of Portland, some two-hundred and fifteen years after the Duke of Exeter who in 1413, became the first Lord High Admiral of England.

Through the years the great officers of State were traditionally Crown ministers, who either inherited their positions or were appointed to exercise certain largely ceremonial functions. And because historically they were so influential their powers have have been continued by the Crown.

since 1628 the Admiralty has been formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, then great Britain and now the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Before this date a seven member "Council of War" commanded all ships "private" and "merchant" when the Country was in a state of War.

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The Admiralty Board was formed

Originally exercised by a single person, the office of Lord High Admiral, was from the eighteenth century onward, put "in commission," and was evercised by the Lord Commander of the Admiralty, who sat on a Board of Admiralty.

The new Admiralty Board, which is a committee of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom, is part of the Ministry of Defence. The new Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day to day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board.

It is not uncommon for the various authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as The Admiralty. There continues to be a Vice-Admiral and a Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom, both are honoury offices.

Queen Elizabeth II, assumed the title of Lord High Admiral in 1964, when the Admiralty was incorporated into the Ministry of Defence. At the same time the office of First Lord of the Admiralty was abolished and the functions of the commissioners were transferred to the Admiralty Board of the tri-service defence council.

The term Admiralty is understood, today, as meaning "sea-power" or "rule over the seas." Kipling wrote: 'If blood be the price of Admiralty, Lord God, we ha' paid in full.'

The continuation of this naval history will be: "Royal Naval Reserve"

Admiralship Royal Naval Reserve

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