Admiralty in the 16th century

The Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office (1546–1707), previously known as the Admiralty Office (1414–1546), was a government department of the Kingdom of England, responsible for the Royal Navy. First established in 1414 when the offices of the separate Admiral of the North and West were abolished and their functions unified under a single centralised command, it was headed by the Lord High Admiral of England. The department existed until 1707 when England and Scotland united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, after which it was known as the British Admiralty.

Under Henry VIII, the Admiralty supervised the creation of a "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships. It later helped repulse the 1588 Spanish Armada during the 1585 to 1604 war with Spain, although attacks on the Spanish mainland were far less successful. By the end of the 16th century, corruption within the Admiralty had seriously weakened the Royal Navy, leading to a government enquiry and calls for naval reform.