Head of the Armed Forces is the position of the

sovereign of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

as commander-in-chief of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

. Supreme military authority is vested in the monarch and extends to the exercise of several personal prerogatives. However, routine administration of the military is delegated as a matter of law to the

Defence Council of the United Kingdom The Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the highest formal governing body of the British Armed Forces, the Defence Council is delegated the responsibility and powers over "command and administration" of the armed forces, by the Crown in t ...

, a body officially charged with the direction and command of the Armed Forces. As the Defence Council and its service boards are all a part of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, which itself is a ministerial department of the

Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

makes the key decisions on the use of the Armed Forces, while the

secretary of state for defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...

assists the prime minister in the development of

defence policy Military policy (also called defence policy or defense policy) is public policy dealing with multinational security and the military. It comprises the measures and initiatives that governments do or do not take in relation to decision-making and ...

and administers the day-to-day

military operation A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operati ...

Military oath of allegiance

Before joining the military all recruits of the British Armed Forces (other than Officers in the Royal Navy) must take the following oath:

''I... swear by Almighty God (do solemnly, and truly declare and affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
, His Heirs and Successors, and that I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, in Person, Crown and Dignity against all enemies, and will observe and obey all orders of His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, and of the Generals and Officers set over me.''

Duties and functions

Supreme command and control over the Armed Forces vests in the Sovereign by virtue of the

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...

; this constitutional arrangement has existed in the United Kingdom and its successor states since time immemorial. As a matter of

statute law A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

however, day-to-day administration and control of the military is carried out on behalf of the reigning King or Queen by the Defence Council through the

and its subordinate service boards. This delegation of command authority extends to matters of

mobilisation Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

, the recruitment of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

s, and the issuance of commands through the

command hierarchy A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. Military chain of command In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders ...

of the three

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

.Review of the Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, October 2009, page 32, Retrieved on 12 May 2013. That notwithstanding, the delegation of daily command authority does not in any way affect the Crown's personal prerogatives in relation to the Armed Forces. A number of powers, duties, and functions are reposed in the Sovereign in his or her capacity as Head of the Armed Forces. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, generally requires the Sovereign to exercise these personal prerogatives in accordance with the advice of

ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign o ...

responsible to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, namely the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and His Majesty's Secretary of State for Defence. The Prime Minister (in consultation with the Cabinet) makes the key political decisions on the use of the Armed Forces while the Defence Secretary administers daily military operations. Nevertheless, the supreme military authority belongs to the Sovereign and not to the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of the day. The Sovereign thus enjoys the right to be consulted before acting on ministerial advice, the right to encourage a given course of military action, and the right to warn against or request a reconsideration of the same. In addition, the monarch has a number of

reserve powers Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US ...

at his disposal, albeit rarely invoked, to uphold

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

and prevent unlawful use of the Armed Forces. To this end, the King has plenary authority to: * Declare war, make peace, or institute hostilities falling short of war; * Issue regulations for the Armed Forces; *

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

those

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the Armed Forces who receive their appointment by way of royal warrant, including all

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and

junior officer Junior officer, company officer or company grade officer refers to the lowest operational commissioned officer category of ranks in a military or paramilitary organization, ranking above non-commissioned officers and below senior officers. D ...

s; * Maintain a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

; * Raise an

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, but only when authorised by Parliament pursuant to the

Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as the Bill of Rights 1688) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the Monarchy of England, Engl ...

; * Deploy and use the Armed Forces overseas; * Deploy and use the Armed Forces on British soil to maintain peace and order in support of civilian government authorities (e.g., to maintain essential services during a strike); * Order warships in times of urgent national necessity; * Regulate trade with hostiles; * Engage in

angary Angary ('; ''; ''; from the Ancient Greek , ', "the office of an (courier or messenger)") is the right of a belligerent (most commonly, a government or other party in conflict) to seize and use, for the purposes of war or to prevent the enemy fro ...

in times of war, that is to appropriate the property of a neutral which is within the realm where necessity requires; and * Exercise extraordinary powers in the event of a grave national emergency, including those to enter upon, take and destroy private property. The King regularly receives the agenda in advance of all Cabinet meetings and its committees, particularly the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

. He also receives the minutes of the meetings of all of these committees and all Cabinet documents. Likewise, the King regularly receives the Secretary of State for Defence in audience to discuss defence documents and policies; if he requires, his Private Secretary can seek additional information from the Ministry of Defence. His Majesty also receives regular reports from the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

, the

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

and Chief of the Naval Staff, and the Chief of the Air Staff that cover all important developments in military matters. His Majesty further receives the Chief of the Defence Staff in audience to discuss tri-service military matters.

Relationships with military personnel

Since the reign of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, the Monarch has been affectionately referred to as ''The Boss'' in informal settings by some members of the Armed Forces, reflecting the Monarch's connection to the Armed Forces through their position as Commander-in-Chief and the

Oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

service personal take when joining the Armed Forces.

The monarch and the Defence Services Secretary

The Defence Services Secretary is an officer of the Royal Household. The DSS is appointed by Royal Warrant from the three Services on a rotational basis. The current occupant is

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

James Norman Macleod. He is the primary channel of communication between the Monarch, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and the officers and commands of the British Armed Forces. His office provides the Monarch with the information and documentation related to defence affairs that he requires to perform his military functions. The office was created in 1964 by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as part of the centralization of military affairs into a single defence ministry. The DSS maintains a direct link with the offices of the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The Defence Services Secretary is responsible to the King, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff for tri-service military appointments and works with the Military Secretary, the

Air Secretary The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was ...

and

Naval Secretary The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equi ...

. He submits the names of the officers nominated for promotion to the King through his private secretary. The King makes appointments to the ranks of rear-admiral, major-general, air vice-marshal and above directly.

The monarch and the Ministry of Defence

The

is the highest level military headquarters charged with formulating and executing defence policy for the Armed Forces; it employed 57,000 civilians in October 2017. The command authority of the Armed Forces flows from the

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, to the various officers and councils of the defence ministry. The Monarch appoints the members of these committees to exercise day-to-day administration of His Majesty's Armed Forces. The committees are the Defence Council, the Army Board, the Navy Board, the Air Force Board, the Defence Board and the Chiefs of Staffs Committee. The Defence Council, composed of senior representatives of the services and the Ministry of Defence, provides the "formal legal basis for the conduct of defence" and is chaired by the Defence Secretary.Defence Organisation
mod.uk

The monarch and the command staffs

Each service branch of the Armed Forces maintains its own command staff that administers the affairs of its service. The staffs receive their authority to act and to exercise command and control over their units from the monarch and his Defence Council. Until 2012 each of the three services also had one or more commands with a (four-star) commander-in-chief in charge of operations. These were, latterly:

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional h ...

(CINCFLEET – sharing a Command HQ with Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME)),

Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces (CINCLAND), was a senior officer in the British Army. CINCLAND commanded Commander Land Forces, HQ Land Forces, an administrative apparatus that had responsibility for all of the army's fighting units in the United ...

(CINCLAND) and Commander-in-Chief Air (CINCAIR). (At one time there were many more

Naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

Commands, each with (in many cases) their own Commanders-in-Chief.) Since 2012, however, full operational command has been vested in the three Chiefs of Staff, and the appointment of distinct Commanders-in-Chief has been discontinued. This change was implemented in response to the 2011 Levene report, which advised that it would serve to "streamline top-level decision-making, simplify lines of accountability... remove duplication between the posts and also provide impetus to the leaning of the senior leadership".

The monarch and military appointments

Under the Monarch's regulations for the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Monarch is responsible for making a large number of appointments to senior military posts. Currently the Commander-in-Chief approves appointments at the two-star level and up. The names of the officers appointed to these and other posts in the armed forces are regularly published by the Ministry of Defence. Most military appointments are issued in the form of Letters Patent or a Royal Warrant; both are forms by which the royal will is expressed. The Defence Council of United Kingdom is created by Letters Patent that also set out its powers and membership. The King signs a royal warrant directing the issue of the Letters Patent and ordering the Great Seal of The Realm to be affixed to them. Letters patent are the most formal method of appointment and are used infrequently. The more frequent and simplest method of appointment is by Royal warrant signed by the Monarch and his Secretary of State for Defence. The Secretary of State first makes an informal submission of the name of a candidate, after the Monarch has signified his approval the Defence Ministry prepares the formal Warrant of Appointment. The Warrants (alongside all other Defence documentation) are sent at the end of each weekday to the King's Private Secretary by Dispatch box. The King and the Secretary of State for Defence then sign the warrant.

References

{{Charles III British Armed Forces Monarchy of the United Kingdom Government of the United Kingdom Commanders in chief