Lords Admiral were appointed from the 15th century; they were later styled
Lords High Admiral until the 18th century, and
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty from the 17th century, as the governors of the English and later British
Royal Navy. From 1683 to 1684, there were seven paid Commissioners, and one unpaid supernumerary Commissioner. The number varied between five and seven Commissioners through the 18th century. The standing of all the Commissioners was in theory the same, although the First Commissioner or
First Lord exercised an ascendancy over his colleagues from an early date. The generally recognized office of
Senior Naval Lord to the Board of Admiralty was established on 8 March 1689, with the first incumbent being Admiral
Arthur Herbert; he was also First Lord of the Admiralty. On 20 January 1690 Admiral Herbert was succeeded by Admiral Sir
John Chicheley under First Lord of Admiralty
Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke. On 22 May 1702 the Board of Admiralty ceased control of naval affairs and was replaced by the
Lord Admiral's Council. The previous office of Senior Naval Lord was replaced by a
Senior Member to the Lords Admiral Council; he was usually a serving naval officer of admiral rank and was the
Chief Naval Adviser to the Lord Admiral. This lasted until 8 November 1709, when the Board of Admiralty resumed control of Naval Affairs and the post of Senior Naval Lord was resumed. On 2 February 1771 the office of Senior Naval Lord was renamed to
First Naval Lord. The first post holder was Vice-Admiral
Augustus Hervey; he first served under First Lord of the Admiralty
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were assigned to each of the 'Naval' Lords, who were described as 'Professional' Lords, leaving to the 'Civil' Lords the routine business of signing documents. On 2 May 1827 the Board of Admiralty once again ceased control of Naval Affairs and was replaced, until 1828, by a Lord High Admirals Council. The title of the First Naval Lord was changed to
First Sea Lord on the appointment of Sir Jackie Fisher in 1904. In 1917 the First Sea Lord was re-styled
First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. From 1923 onward, the First Sea Lord was a member of the
Chiefs of Staff Committee, and from 1923 to 1959, in rotation with the representatives of the other services (the
Chief of the Imperial General Staff and
Chief of the Air Staff), he served as the chairman of that committee and head of all British armed forces. The title was retained when the
Board of Admiralty was abolished in 1964 and the Board's functions were integrated into the Ministry of Defence. Under the current organisation, the First Sea Lord sits on the
Defence Council, the
Admiralty Board Since 2012, the
flagship of the First Sea Lord has nominally been the
ship of the line HMS Victory, which used to be
Lord Nelson's flagship. ==Appointees==