Head of the Armed Forces
Head of the Armed Forces[1][2][3][4][5][6] is the position of the sovereign of the United Kingdom as commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces.[7] However, supreme military authority has been delegated by the monarch to the Defence Council of the United Kingdom, a body officially charged with the direction and administration of the Armed Forces.
For the New Zealand equivalent, see Head of the Armed Forces (New Zealand).Head of The British Armed Forces
As the Council and other military bodies all are a part of the Defence Ministry, which itself is a part of the Government of the United Kingdom, the prime minister makes the key decisions on the use of the Armed Forces, while the secretary of state for defence assists the prime minister and administers the day-to-day military operations.
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Defence Services Secretary of the Royal Household[edit]
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.[16] The current occupant is Rear Admiral 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 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.[17] 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 and Naval Secretary. 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.[7]
The monarch and Military Appointments[edit]
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.[18][19]
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.[20] The Defence Council of United Kingdom is created by Letters Patent that also set out its powers and membership.[7] 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.[20]
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.[21] The King and the Secretary of State for Defence then sign the warrant.[16]
The monarch and the Ministry of Defence[edit]
The Ministry of Defence 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.[22]
The command authority of the Armed Forces flows from the monarch, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, to the various officers and councils of the defence ministry.[23] 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[24] 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.[25][26]
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