United Kingdom: Lord High Admiral

Last modified: 2004-07-10 by rob raeside
Keywords: royal navy | united kingdom | lord high admiral | anchor (yellow) |
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by Martin Grieve

• Office of the Lord High Admiral
• Description and use of the flag
• First Lord of the Admiralty
• Previous versions of the flag
• 1672-1725 version
• 1725-1815 version
• 1815-1893 version
• 1893-1929 version
• Norie and Hobbs (1848) variant
• Pederson (1970) variant
• Civilian Members of the Board of Admiralty (obsolete)

See also:

• United Kingdom
• Red, White and Blue Ensigns
• Royal Navy
• United Kingdom: Ministry of Defence and army
• Royal Air Force

Office of the Lord High Admiral

Admiral of England, or Lord Admiral, later Lord High Admiral was an office created in about 1400 by combining the responsibilities of Admiral of the North, and Admiral of the West. It was an "office" and not a "rank", and could thus be placed in commission. In other words one person could be Lord High Admiral, and given responsibility for executing the duties of the office, or alternatively, the responsibility could be placed upon a particular group of people to be Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral.

This first happened in 1628 when Charles I put the Office of Lord High Admiral into commission and effectively created the first Board of Admiralty. Ten years later the Earl of Northumberland was appointed Lord High Admiral, and the office was in and out of commission until 1709 when the Board of Admiralty were, in legal form, given all the powers that had been vested in the Lord High Admiral of England. The office, as a personal appointment, was revived briefly in 1827 when the Duke of Clarence was appointed Lord High Admiral, but placed permanently in commission when he became William IV in 1830.

The anchor flag of the Lord High Admiral became known as the Admiralty Flag, and after 1850 was flown on land in London; over the old Admiralty Building until 1930, and on the tower of the new Admiralty Building overlooking Horse Guards Parade until 1964. Before 1905 it was flown only on Flag Flying Days, but after that flown continuously day and night, except when the Board as a whole were absent. When the Admiralty was abolished and replaced by the Ministry of Defence (Navy) the Queen assumed the title of Lord High Admiral.

David Prothero, 10 August 2002

Description and use of the flag

The red flag with horizontal yellow anchor is the flag of rank or office of the lord high admiral - that is, of the queen. Back when the first lord of the Admiralty was a senior member of the cabinet, the flag was used by the Admiralty Board, to which the powers of lord high admiral had been delegated by the crown. After World War II a unified Ministry of Defence was set up and