The rank can be held by either a naval officer appointed by the
Council of Ministers of the Netherlands or a member of the
Dutch royal family. The royal connection to the rank of admiral possibly originated in 1830, when
King William I promoted his son
Prince Frederick (who was already the Secretary of State for War and Navy) to the rank of admiral and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The next and till today last person promoted to the rank of admiral was
Prince Hendrik, the youngest brother of
King William III, who made his brother admiral in 1879 to honor him for his long and exceptional career in the navy. The seniority of all Netherlands admiral ranks is as follows: • (
Admiral) • (
Lieutenant Admiral) • (
Vice Admiral) • (
Rear Admiral) • (
Commodore) ==List of
Admiraals==