Admiralty

Admiralty in British government, department in charge of the operations of the Royal Navy until 1964. Originally established under Henry VIII, it was reorganized under Charles II. Five lords commissioners composed the board of Admiralty, each gradually developing his own field of specific responsibility, with the first lord responsible to Parliament. In 1832 it absorbed the navy board, previously responsible for the administrative organization. In 1964 the Admiralty became the navy department, coequal with the other service departments, of the ministry of defense. The navy is now directed by the Admiralty Board of the Defense Council, which consists of 4 naval and 7 civilian members, including the secretary of state for defense, who serves as chair.

admiralty n. pl. -ies
1. the rank or office of an admiral.

2. Admiralty the department of the British government that once administered the Royal Navy.

Admiralty, originally the generic term for jurisdiction over maritime causes, with authority to establish courts, known as the High Court of Admiralty, presided over by a judge of Admiralty. This was a particularly British institution, dealing with maritime causes, such as piracy and prize, which provided the Lord High Admiral, one of the great officers of state, with the majority of his income. According to the Black Book of the Admiralty, the English codification of the Laws of Oleron, this court of jurisdiction was founded during the reign of Edward III (1327–77).

At about the same time, Admiralty came also to be applied to the office of the Lord High Admiral in its military and administrative aspects with regard to the Royal Navy. The officials executing this office were known as Lords Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral, and their committee as the Board of Admiralty. By the beginning of the Second World War (1939–45) this board comprised the First Lord, a political appointment who was also known as the First Lord of the Admiralty; the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff; the Second Sea Lord, who was responsible for manning and recruiting; the Third Sea Lord, also known as the Controller of the Navy, who dealt with shipbuilding, ship repair, and naval dockyards; the Fourth Sea Lord, who was responsible for victualling, supplies, and naval hospitals; and the Fifth Sea Lord, who was in charge of the Fleet Air Arm. Unlike its air and army equivalents, the Admiralty was an operational centre with operations being under the direct control of the First Sea Lord in his capacity as Chief of the Naval Staff. He exercised this control through the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, who also had responsibility for such matters as intelligence, hydrography, and navigation. In 1964 the board was absorbed, with its army and air force equivalents, into a Ministry of Defence. However, as a concession to long tradition, those within the Ministry of Defence charged with the overall direction of naval affairs were collectively called the Admiralty Board, but were no longer Lords Commissioners.

In other maritime nations the overall direction of their naval affairs is usually conducted by a Ministry of Marine or a Navy Department. See also admiral.