Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom

The Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. He is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office vested in the Sovereign from 1964 to 2011 and currently held by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. He is appointed by the Sovereign on the nomination of the First Sea Lord.

In former days, the Vice-Admiral of England (or Vice-Admiral of Great Britain following the 1707 union with Scotland) was the second most powerful position in the Royal Navy, and until 1801 was officially called the Lieutenant of the Admiralty. The office was created in 1545 by Tudor King Henry VIII. Amongst other responsibilities, the Lieutenant of the Admiralty presided over the Council of the Marine, later known as the Navy Board.

As the deputy of the Lord High Admiral, the responsibilities of the pre-1964 Board of Admiralty would, in theory, have devolved upon the Vice-Admiral had the entire Board been incapacitated before a new Commission of Admiralty could pass the Great Seal. However, such a contingency never occurred in practice.

Below the office of Vice-Admiral ranks the Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom, another now honorary office.

1876: Abolished under Queen Victoria

1901: Revived by King Edward VII

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