Admiral ( Royal Navy ) Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom , outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of Rear Admiral , Vice Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet are sometimes considered generically to be Admirals . History . King Edward I of England appointed the first English Admiral in 1297 when he named William de Leyburn “ Admiral of the sea of the King of England ” . The rank of Admiral should not be confused with the office of " Admiral of England " or Lord High Admiral , which was an office held by the person with overall responsibility for the Navy . The Royal Navy has had Vice and Rear Admirals since at least the 16th century . When in command of the fleet , the Admiral would either be in the lead or the middle portion of the fleet . When the Admiral commanded from the middle portion of the fleet his deputy , the Vice Admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet , called Rear Admiral . In Elizabethan times the fleet grew large enough to be organized into squadrons . The admiral ’ s squadron wore a red ensign , the vice admiral ’ s white , and the rear admiral ’ s blue . As the squadrons grew , each was eventually commanded by an Admiral ( with Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals commanding sections ) and the official titles became Admiral of the White , et cetera . The squadrons ranked in order Red , White , and Blue , with admirals ranked according to their squadron : Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in the rank of Post - Captain , and rank was held for life , so the only way to be promoted was for the person above you on the list to die or resign . ( This created serious problems when Admiral of the Fleet Provo Wallis lived to be almost 101 . ) Another way was to promote unsuccessful captains to the rank of admiral " without distinction of squadron " ( a practice known as " yellowing " — the Captain so raised became known as a " yellow admiral " ) . In the 18th century , the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank , although the rank of Admiral of the Red was always filled by only one man and was known as Admiral of the Fleet , but the organisation of the fleet into coloured squadrons was abandoned in 1864 . The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Marine , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy , and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels . The 19th century British Navy also maintained a positional rank known as Port Admiral . A Port Admiral was typically a veteran Captain who served as the shore commander of a British Naval Port and was in charge of supplying , refitting , and maintaining the ships docked at harbour . The most powerful Port Admiral position was the Port Admiral of Portsmouth , considered the leading harbour of the Royal Navy . In 1996 , the rank of Admiral of the Fleet was put in abeyance in peacetime , except for members of the Royal family . However , Admirals of the Fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life . References to the historical admirals . The names Red Admiral , White Admiral and Blue Admiral , and Yellow Admiral , have been subsequently adopted to refer to kinds of butterfly . Rank insignia and personal flag . The current ranks are Rear Admiral , Vice Admiral , Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet , also known as flag ranks because admirals , known as Flag Officer s , are entitled to fly a personal flag . An Admiral of the Fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead , while an Admiral flies a St George ' s cross ( red cross on white ) . Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals fly a St George ’ s cross with one or two red discs in the hoist , respectively . The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by a broad band with three narrower bands . Since 2001 it has been designated a 4 star rank when the number of stars on the shoulder board were increased to four .