This is a List of Lord High Admirals and First Lords of the Admiralty of England, Great Britain and then the United Kingdom. Most of them were courtiers or politicians, not professional naval officers. The Lord High Admiral was one of the nine Great Officers of State in medieval England.
The office of Lord High Admiral, when it was not occupied by an individual, was "put into commission" and exercised by a board of Lords Commissioners headed by a First Lord of the Admiralty. This became the usual state of affairs.
In 1964, the office of First Lord of the Admiralty was abolished and the functions of the commissioners were transferred to the Admiralty Board of a tri-service Defence Council, and the title of Lord High Admiral was re-vested in the Sovereign. In 2011, the title was bestowed by The Queen on her consort The Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of his 90th birthday.[1]
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| The Duke of Exeter | 1413 | 1426 |
| The Duke of Bedford | 1426 | 1435 |
| The Duke of Exeter | 1435 | 1447 |
| The Duke of Suffolk | 1447 | 1450 |
| The Duke of Exeter | 1450 | 1461 |
| The Earl of Kent | 1462 | 1462 |
| The Duke of Gloucester | 1462 | 1470 |
| The Earl of Warwick | 1470 | 1471 |
| The Duke of Gloucester | 1471 | 1483 |
| The Duke of Norfolk | 1483 | 1485 |
| The Earl of Oxford | 1485 | 1513 |
| Sir Edward Howard | 1513 | 1513 |
| The Earl of Surrey | 1513 | 1525 |
| The Duke of Richmond and Somerset | 1525 | 1536 |
| The Earl of Southampton | 1536 | 1540 |
| The Lord Russell | 1540 | 1542 |
| The Earl of Hertford | 1542 | 1543 |
| The Viscount Lisle | 1543 | 1547 |
| The Lord Seymour of Sudeley | 1547 | 1549 |
| The Earl of Warwick | 1549 | 1550 |
| The Lord Clinton | 1550 | 1554 |
| The Lord Howard of Effingham | 1554 | 1558 |
| The Earl of Lincoln | 1558 | 1585 |
| The Lord Howard of Effingham (Earl of Nottingham from 1596) |
1585 | 1619 |
| The Duke of Buckingham | 1619 | 1628 |
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| The Earl of Portland (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1628 | 1635 |
| The Earl of Lindsey (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1635 | 1636 |
| William Juxon, Bishop of Lincoln (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1636 | 1638 |
| The Earl of Northumberland (Lord High Admiral 1638-1642; First Lord of the Admiralty 1642-1643) |
1638 | 1643 |
| The Lord Cottington | 1643 | 1646 |
| Daniel Neal, Earl of Banbury | 1646 | 1660 |
| The Duke of York and Albany (Lord High Admiral) |
1660 | 1673 |
| King Charles II (Lord High Admiral) |
1673 | 1673 |
| Prince Rupert (Lord High Admiral) |
1673 | 1679 |
| Sir Henry Capell (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1679 | 1681 |
| The Earl of Nottingham (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1681 | 1684 |
| King Charles II (Lord High Admiral) |
1684 | 1685 |
| King James II (Lord High Admiral) |
1685 | 1688 |
| King William III (Lord High Admiral) |
1689 | 1689 |
| The Earl of Torrington (Lord High Admiral 1689; First Lord of the Admiralty 1689-1690) |
1689 | 1690 |
| The Earl of Pembroke (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1690 | 1692 |
| The Lord Cornwallis (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1692 | 1693 |
| The Viscount Falkland (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1693 | 1694 |
| The Earl of Orford (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1694 | 1699 |
| The Earl of Bridgewater (First Lord of the Admiralty) |
1699 | 1701 |
| The Earl of Pembroke (Lord High Admiral) |
1701 | 1702 |
| Prince George of Denmark (Lord High Admiral) |
1702 | 1708 |
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Anne | 1708 | 1708 |
| The Earl of Pembroke | 1708 | 1709 |
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| The Earl of Orford | 1709 | 1710 |
| Sir John Leake | 1710 | 1712 |
| The Earl of Strafford | 1712 | 1714 |
| The Earl of Orford | 1714 | 1717 |
| The Earl of Berkeley | 1717 | 1727 |
| The Viscount Torrington | 1727 | 1733 |
| Sir Charles Wager | 1733 | 1742 |
| The Earl of Winchilsea | 1742 | 1744 |
| The Duke of Bedford | 1744 | 1748 |
| The Earl of Sandwich | 1748 | 1751 |
| The Lord Anson | 1751 | 1756 |
| The Earl Temple | 1756 | 1757 |
| The Earl of Winchilsea | 1757 | 1757 |
| The Lord Anson | 1757 | 1762 |
| The Earl of Halifax | 1762 | 1762 |
| Hon. George Grenville | 1762 | 1763 |
| The Earl of Sandwich | 1763 | 1763 |
| The Earl of Egmont | 1763 | 1766 |
| Sir Charles Saunders | 1766 | 1766 |
| Sir Edward Hawke | 1766 | 1771 |
| The Earl of Sandwich | 1771 | 1782 |
| The Viscount Keppel | 1782 | 1783 |
| The Viscount Howe | 1783 | 1783 |
| The Viscount Keppel | 1783 | 1783 |
| The Viscount Howe | 1783 | 1788 |
| The Earl of Chatham | 1788 | 1794 |
| The Earl Spencer | 1794 | 1801 |
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| The Earl of Selborne | 1900 | 1905 |
| The Earl Cawdor | 1905 | 1905 |
| The Lord Tweedmouth | 1905 | 1908 |
| Reginald McKenna | 1908 | 1911 |
| Winston Churchill | 1911 | 1915 |
| Arthur Balfour (Earl of Balfour from 1922) |
1915 | 1916 |
| Sir Edward Carson (Baron Carson from 1921) |
1916 | 1917 |
| Sir Eric Geddes | 1917 | 1919 |
| Walter Long (Viscount Long from 1921) |
1919 | 1921 |
| The Lord Lee of Fareham | 1921 | 1922 |
| Leo Amery | 1922 | 1924 |
| The Viscount Chelmsford | 1924 | 1924 |
| William Bridgeman (Viscount Bridgeman from 1929) |
1924 | 1929 |
| A. V. Alexander (Viscount then Earl Alexander of Hillsborough from 1950) |
1929 | 1931 |
| Sir Austen Chamberlain | 1931 | 1931 |
| Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell (Viscount Monsell from 1935) |
1931 | 1936 |
| Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt | 1936 | 1937 |
| Duff Cooper (Viscount Norwich from 1952) |
1937 | 1938 |
| The Earl Stanhope | 1938 | 1939 |
| Winston Churchill | 1939 | 1940 |
| A. V. Alexander (Viscount then Earl Alexander of Hillsborough from 1950) |
1940 | 1945 |
| Brendan Bracken (Viscount Bracken from 1952) |
1945 | 1945 |
| A. V. Alexander (Viscount then Earl Alexander of Hillsborough from 1950) |
1945 | 1946 |
| George Hall (Viscount Hall from 1946) |
1946 | 1951 |
| The Lord Pakenham | 1951 | 1951 |
| James Thomas (Viscount Cilcennin from 1955) |
1951 | 1956 |
| The Viscount Hailsham | 1956 | 1957 |
| The Earl of Selkirk | 1957 | 1959 |
| The Lord Carrington | 1959 | 1963 |
| The Earl Jellicoe | 1963 | 1964 |
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth II | 1964 | 2011 |
| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh | 2011 | incumbent |