Below is a list of First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp, an office established by William IV of the United Kingdom in 1830.
In 1827 King George IV had appointed Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor (a senior Army officer and courtier) to be his First and Principal Aide-de-Camp[1] ('an office which it is said was established expressly for the purpose of retaining the valuable services of Sir Herbert, who at that period was contemplating a continental journey').[2] Three years later King William IV appointed a number of Naval Aides-de-Camp to the King, and at the same time appointed Admiral the Rt Hon. Lord Amelius Beauclerk, K.C.B., to be his First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp.[3] Meanwhile Sir Herbert Taylor continued to hold the distinct office of First and Principal ADC, under both King William IV[4] and Queen Victoria, until his death in 1839.[5] He was not directly replaced; whereas Beauclerk, following his death in December 1846, was promptly replaced in the office of First and Principal Naval ADC by Vice Admiral Sir William Parker, Bart., G.C.B..[6]
Since 1972, the office has been united with that of First Sea Lord.[15]
Flag Aide-de-Camp was, for a time, the designation given to the next most senior naval aide-de-camp after the First and Principal Naval ADC (namely between 1972 and 2012). The Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command invariably held this appointment;[16] in October 2012 the post of Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command was abolished, since when the appointment of Flag Aide-de-Camp appears to be in abeyance.[17]
