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74-568: Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith GCB GCTE KmstkSO FRS (21 June 1764 – 26 May 1840) was a British Royal Navy officer. Serving in the American and French revolutionary wars and Napoleonic Wars , he rose to the rank of Admiral . Smith was known for his outspoken character and penchant for acting on his own initiative, which caused a great deal of friction with many of his superiors and colleagues. His military skill, personal intelligence and enterprise led to his involvement in

148-538: A change of command ceremony aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) , while docked at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain , U.S. Marine Corps Gen . James Mattis , Commander, U.S. Central Command , introduced Vice Admiral Mark I. Fox as "Admiral Fox, the prince of the sea, emir of the sea – to translate 'admiral' from the Arabic to English;" On 04 Feb 2021, in an announcement of his coronavirus -related death,

222-555: A governor , commander , or person who rules over a number of people" and al ( الـ ), the Arabic definite article meaning "the." In Arabic, admiral is also represented as Amīr al-Baḥr ( أمير البحر ), where al-Baḥr (البحر) means the sea . The 1818 edition of Samuel Johnson 's A Dictionary of the English Language , edited and revised by the Rev. Henry John Todd , states that

296-605: A "Swedish army under His command has been victorious, either through combat or conquest". The special class is called Knight of the Grand Cross . The breast star is in the shape of an upright sword, and is worn on the left pocket and the badge is worn around the neck. The order also encompasses two medals; Both medals are worn on a ribbon on the left chest. The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Maltese Cross in saltire (i.e. X-shaped), in silver for Knight class and in gold for

370-451: A breach was forced in the defences. However, the assault was again repelled and Turkish reinforcements from Rhodes were able to land. On 9 May after another fierce bombardment, the final French assault was made. This, too, was repelled and Napoleon began making plans for the withdrawal of his army to Egypt. Shortly after this, Napoleon abandoned his army in Egypt and sailed back to France evading

444-779: A drawing of himself and his secretary John Wesley Wright from the French artist Philippe Auguste Hennequin , which is now in the British Museum. Another drawing by Hennequin, depicting only Smith, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Smith was held in Paris for two years, despite a number of efforts to exchange him and frequent contacts with both French Royalists and British agents. Notably Captain Jacques Bergeret , captured in April 1796 with

518-528: A launching point for intercepting coastal shipping, and as a transit point for French émigrés, and were held by the Royal Navy for nearly seven years. Smith specialised in inshore operations, and on 19 April 1796, he and his secretary John Wesley Wright were captured while attempting to cut out a French ship in Le Havre . Smith had taken the ship's boats into the harbour, but the wind died as they attempted to leave

592-545: A more or less obligatory award for military officers after a certain number of years in service. There were originally three grades, Knight , Commander and Commander Grand Cross , but these were later multiplied by division into classes. On 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated

666-748: A seagoing position, he was never to hold a command again. He died on 26 May 1840 of a stroke. He is buried with his wife in Père Lachaise Cemetery . On 7 April 1801 Sidney , New York ( Delaware County ) was named in Sir Sidney Smith's honour. In June 1811 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society . In 1838 he was promoted to GCB in the Coronation Honours . Sidney Smith Barracks, in Mandate Palestine, were named in his honour. Now it

740-525: A variety of tasks which involved warfare, diplomacy and espionage . He became a hero in Britain for leading the successful defence of Acre in 1799, thwarting Napoleon's plans of further conquest in the Sinai . Napoleon Bonaparte , reminiscing later in his life, said of him: "That man made me miss my destiny". Sidney Smith, as he always called himself, was born into a military and naval family with connections to

814-640: Is a king in the Arabian language.' Amrayl is used by Robert of Gloucester, in the sense of a prince, or governour." The quote from John Minsheu 's Dictionarie in Spanish and English (1599), given in Johnson's Dictionary, has been confirmed as being accurate. Additionally, the definition of Amīr (أمير), as given in Edward William Lane 's Arabic-English Lexicon , concurs, in part, with Minsheu's definition, stating that

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888-641: Is the site of Bustan Ha-Galil in northern Israel, where on 14 July 1941 the French forces in Syria and Lebanon signed their surrender to the British. Admiral The word admiral in Middle English comes from Anglo-French amiral , "commander", from Medieval Latin admiralis , admirallus . These evolved from the Arabic amīral ( أمير الـ ) – amīr ( أمير ) [ʔmjr] ( listen ), " king , prince , chief, leader, nobleman , lord ,

962-577: The Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 and under Admiral George Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes . In consequence he received his first command, the sloop Fury . He was soon promoted to captain a larger frigate, but following the peace of Versailles in 1783, he was put ashore on half pay. During the peace, Smith chose to travel to France and first became involved with intelligence matters while observing

1036-645: The English Channel , arriving in London on 8 May 1798. Bergeret was then released, the British government considering the prisoner exchange as completed. Following Nelson's overwhelming victory at the Battle of the Nile , Smith was sent to the Mediterranean as captain of HMS  Tigre , a captured 80-gun French ship of the line which had been bought into the Royal Navy. It was not a purely naval appointment, although he

1110-552: The Kingdom of Naples . Smith planned a campaign using Calabrian irregular troops with a force of 5,000 British officers and men to march north on Naples. On 4 July 1806, they defeated a larger French force at the Battle of Maida . Once again, Smith's inability to avoid offending his superiors caused him to be replaced as commander of the land forces despite his success. He was replaced by Sir John Moore , one of Britain's most able soldiers. Moore abandoned Smith's plan and resorted to making

1184-667: The Pitt family. He was born at Westminster , the second son of Captain John Smith of the Guards and his wife Mary Wilkinson, daughter of wealthy merchant Pinckney Wilkinson . Sidney Smith attended Tonbridge School until 1772. He joined the Royal Navy in 1777 and fought in the American Revolutionary War . From June 1777 to January 1778 he served under Commander Jalheel Brenton on board

1258-573: The Svärdstecken ("Badge of the Sword"), introduced in 1850, was given to non-commissioned officers; one thus decorated would call himself a svärdsman ("Swordsman"). A Medal of the Sword was also introduced for enlisted men. Both the non-commissioned officers and the enlisted men had to have served for at least sixteen years to qualify for the Badge and Medal respectively. In 1952 a special medal of distinction

1332-567: The Western Squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren . This squadron consisted of some of the most skilful and daring captains, including Sir Edward Pellew . Smith fitted this pattern and on one occasion took his ship almost into the port of Brest to observe the French fleet. In July 1795, Captain Smith, commanding the western frigate squadron in HMS Diamond , occupied the Îles Saint-Marcouf off

1406-501: The anti-slavery cause. The Barbary pirates had operated for centuries out of a number of North African ports. They had enslaved captured sailors and even made raids to kidnap people from European coasts, including England and Ireland . Smith attended the Congress of Vienna to campaign for funds and military action to end the practice of slave taking. Smith had managed to run up significant debts through his diplomatic expenses, which

1480-651: The "d" and endured a series of different endings and spellings leading to the English spelling admyrall in the 14th century and to admiral by the 16th century. It is important to note that the etymology of a word does not suggest the antiquity of the word as it may have appeared in other languages with entirely different pronunciations. The Greek ναύαρχος, for instance, which is pronounced "naúarkhēs," existed from very ancient times in Greece. While ναύαρχος may be defined as "admiral" as used by Plutarch in his Parallel Lives ,

1554-614: The Arabic Amīr (أمير), the literal meaning of the phrase Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر) is "Prince of the Sea." This position, versus "commander of the sea," is demonstrated by legal practices prevailing in the Ottoman Empire , whereas it was only possible for Phanariots to qualify for attaining four princely positions, those being grand dragoman , dragoman of the fleet , and the voivodees of Moldavia and Wallachia . Those Phanariots who attained

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1628-511: The Arabic news website Saudi 24 News referred to Admiral Edmond Chagoury by the title "Prince of the Sea." One alternate etymology proposes that the term admiral evolved, instead, from the title of Amīr al-Umarā ʾ (أمير الأمراء). Under the reign of the Buyid dynasty (934 to 1062) of Iraq and Iran , the title of Amīr al-Umarāʾ, which means prince of princes, came to denote the heir-apparent , or crown prince . This alternate etymology states that

1702-626: The Bay of Viborg of the Russian fleet and later at the Battle of Svensksund ( Finnish : Ruotsinsalmi, Russian : Rochensalm). The Russians lost sixty-four ships and over a thousand men. The Swedes lost four ships and had few casualties. For this, Smith was knighted by the king and made a Commander Grand Cross of the Swedish Svärdsorden ( Order of the Sword ). Smith used this title, with King George III 's permission. In 1792, Smith's younger brother, John ,

1776-476: The British government proved to be very slow in reimbursing. He also lived the high life and his efforts to mobilise opinion against the slave trade had cost a good deal of money. In Britain, at that time debtors were often imprisoned until their debts were paid, so Smith moved his family to France, settling in Paris. Eventually the government did reimburse his expenditures and increased his pension, allowing him to live in some style. Despite frequent attempts to obtain

1850-622: The British ships patrolling the Mediterranean. Smith attempted to negotiate the surrender and repatriation of the remaining French forces under General Kléber and signed the Convention of El-Arish . However, because of the influence of Nelson's view that the French forces in Egypt should be annihilated rather than allowed to return to France, the treaty was abrogated by Lord Keith who had succeeded St Vincent as commander-in-chief. The British decided instead to land an army under Sir Ralph Abercromby at Abukir Bay. Smith and Tigre were involved in

1924-522: The French invasion fleet gathering off the French and Belgian coasts. However, an attempt to use the new weapons combined with Congreve rockets in an attack on Boulogne was foiled by bad weather and the French gunboats that came out to threaten the attackers. Despite this setback, suggestions were made that the rockets, mines and torpedoes be used against the Combined French and Spanish Fleet in Cádiz . This

1998-517: The French. Smith travelling back to England had only reached Brussels by June. Smith, his wife and stepdaughter attended the Duchess of Richmond's ball on night 15/16 June, and three days later, hearing the gunfire of a great battle, he rode out of Brussels and went to meet the Duke of Wellington . Smith found him late in the day when he had just won the Battle of Waterloo . Smith started making arrangements for

2072-672: The Government has declared that a bill on the subject will be presented to the Riksdag on 19 April 2022. The Bill was passed on 15 June 2022, and the Order of the Sword was re-introduced into the Swedish honours system on 1 February 2023. On 29 September 2023, Colonel Ryan S. Sweeney , defense attaché at the American embassy in Stockholm, became the first person since 1974 to receive the order. Formerly

2146-455: The King and the country, and to combat courageously against the foes of the country.” When a foreigner was elected a Commander of the Grand Cross, the insignia were sent to him abroad, while he, in his turn, transmitted to the archives of the Order a statement of the services rendered by him. When the royal orders were reinstated, however, the old ceremony was not restored. Instead a new state ceremony

2220-466: The King himself delivers a speech each recipient of all orders are, one by one, one order at a time from highest to lowest in rank, announced and called upon by the Deputy Chancellor of the Royal Orders to receive their insignia from the King and shake his hand. After all recipients of a certain order have received their award, the fanfare of that order is performed before the investiture of members of

2294-576: The Knight 1st Class and above; gold open crowns appeared between the arms of the cross. The obverse central medallion bears an upright gold sword between three gold crowns on a blue enamelled background; the reverse central medallion has an upright gold sword intersecting a gold laurel wreath, and the Latin legend "Pro Patria" (For Fatherland) on a blue enamelled background. A pair of crossed gold swords in blue enamelled scabbards with downward turned blades lie across

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2368-535: The Order of the Sword and the Order of Vasa, which came in effect from 1 February 2023. The order was created by King Frederick I in 1748, along with two other orders, the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. In 1788, King Gustav III created two new grades of the order, which could only be bestowed in war time: These grades proper were only given to commissioned officers, but an affiliated decoration,

2442-455: The Ottoman forces in Egypt, marched north along the Mediterranean coast with 13,000 troops through Sinai and into what was then the Ottoman province of Syria. Here he took control of much of the southern part of the province, representing modern-day Israel and Palestine , and of a single town in today's Lebanon , Tyre . On the way north he captured Gaza and Jaffa with much brutality towards

2516-576: The Portuguese Royal Family, Admiral Smith was awarded by the Prince-Regent John , the Grand Cross of the newly restored Order of the Tower and Sword . In July 1812, Smith again sailed for the Mediterranean aboard his new flagship, the 74-gun Tremendous . He was appointed as second in command to Vice Admiral Sir Edward Pellew . His task was to blockade Toulon and he transferred his flag to

2590-501: The Revolutionary forces, including a colonel of artillery, Napoleon Bonaparte , had surrounded the port and were attacking it. The British and their allies had insufficient soldiers to mount an effective defence and so the port was evacuated. Smith, serving as a volunteer with no command, was given the task of burning as many French ships and stores as possible before the harbour could be captured. Despite his efforts, lack of support from

2664-416: The Spanish forces sent to help him left more than half of the French ships to be captured undamaged. Although Smith had destroyed more French ships than had the most successful fleet action to that date, Nelson and Collingwood , among others, blamed him for this failure to destroy all of the French fleet. On his return to London, Smith was given command of the fifth-rate HMS Diamond and in 1795 joined

2738-564: The Sword ; Swedish : Kungliga Svärdsorden ) is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star . The motto of the order is in Latin: Pro Patria (which means "For Fatherland"). Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it eventually became

2812-577: The Turkish court, and his personal popularity with the Turks, he was kept in a subordinate role during the campaign. Even when Duckworth eventually did ask for his advice, it was not heeded. Duckworth, instead of allowing Smith to negotiate with the Turks, which the French ambassador later said would have been the end of the French overtures, retreated back through the Dardanelles under heavy Turkish fire. Although this

2886-399: The civilian population and the massacre of 3,000 captured Turkish soldiers, whom he was unable to take with him or send back to Egypt. Napoleon's army then marched to Acre . Smith sailed to Acre and helped the Turkish commander Jezzar Pasha reinforce the defences and old walls and supplied him with additional cannon manned by sailors and Marines from his ships. He also used his command of

2960-400: The coast of Normandy . He sacrificed two of his gun vessels, HMS  Badger and HMS  Sandfly , to provide materials and manpower for fortifying the islands and setting a temporary naval garrison. Further defences were constructed by Royal Engineers, and Royal Marines and Royal Artillery detachments were established. The islands served as a forward base for the blockade of Le Havre ,

3034-614: The collecting and treatment of the many wounded soldiers on both sides. He was then asked to take the surrender of the French garrisons at Arras and Amiens and to ensure that the Allied armies could enter Paris without a fight and that it would be safe for King Louis XVIII to return to his capital. For these and other services, he was finally awarded a British knighthood, the KCB , so he was not just "the Swedish Knight" any more. Smith then took up

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3108-512: The construction of the new naval port at Cherbourg . He also travelled in Spain and Morocco which were also potential enemies. In 1790, he applied for permission to serve in the Royal Swedish Navy in the war between Sweden and Russia . King Gustav III appointed him to command one light squadron and to be one of his principal naval advisers. Smith led his forces in the attempt of clearing

3182-567: The cross. At the top of the points of the upper arms of the cross and of the sword is a small royal crown. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden frequently wears his Commander Grand Cross necklet and badge. In 2019, a parliamentary committee was instructed to establish guidelines on how to re-introduce the Swedish orders, including the Order of the Sword, into the Swedish honours system and how Swedish citizens again can be appointed to Swedish orders. The committee presented its findings in September 2021 and

3256-634: The frigate Virginie , was sent from England to Paris to negotiate his own exchange; when the Directoire refused, he returned to London. The French authorities threatened several times to try Smith for arson, but never followed through on the threats. Eventually in 1798 the Royalists, who pretended to be taking him to another prison, helped Smith and Wright to escape. The royalists brought the two Englishmen to Le Havre, where they boarded an open fishing boat and were picked up on 5 May by HMS  Argo on patrol in

3330-552: The harbour at Lisbon should that be unsuccessful. Smith arranged for the Portuguese fleet to sail for Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , at that time a Portuguese colony. He was involved in planning an attack on the Spanish colonies in South America , in combination with the Portuguese, contrary to his orders, but he was recalled to Britain in 1809 before any of the plans could be carried out. He received much popular acclaim for his actions and

3404-571: The harbour, and the French were able to recapture the ship with Smith and Wright aboard. Instead of being exchanged, as was the custom, Smith and Wright were taken to the Temple prison in Paris where Smith was to be charged with arson for his burning of the fleet at Toulon. As Smith had been on half pay at the time, the French considered that he was not an official combatant. Whilst in the Temple prison he commissioned

3478-514: The island of Sicily a strong British base in the Mediterranean. Smith was sent to join Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth 's expedition to Constantinople in February 1807. This was intended to forestall the French from making an alliance with the Turks to allow free passage of their army to Egypt. On 19 February Duckworth detached Smith's division to deal with a Turkish squadron impeding the fleet's progress, which Smith ably destroyed. Despite Smith's great experience in Turkish waters, his knowledge of

3552-403: The larger Hibernia , a 110-gun first-rate . The French did not come out of port to confront the British. Early in 1814, the Allies entered Paris and Napoleon abdicated . With the coming of peace and the defeat of Napoleon, Smith began the journey back to England. In March 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and gathering his veteran troops marched on Paris where he was reinstated as Emperor of

3626-431: The last French stronghold of Alexandria . The French troops were eventually repatriated on terms similar to those previously obtained by Smith in the Convention of El-Arish. On his return to England in 1801, Smith received some honours and a pension of £1,000 for his services, but he was overshadowed again by Nelson who was being acclaimed as the victor of the Battle of Copenhagen . During the brief Peace of Amiens , Smith

3700-406: The next order begins. This ceremony was first held on 31 May 2024. The Order of the Sword in peacetime had five classes: In 1788 King Gustaf III , during the Russo-Swedish War , instituted another class of the order that could only be bestowed in wartime and only to senior officers whose conduct had had a significant effect on the war. Not even the King of Sweden can wear the decoration until

3774-440: The opening between the upper arms of the cross at the top of the badge. In addition the badges of the two highest classes also have an upright similar gold and blue sword across the openings at the sides of the cross and an identical pair of crossed gold and blue swords with downwards turned blades across the opening between the lower arms of the cross at the bottom of the badge, the pairs of crossed swords are each tied together and

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3848-412: The princely position of dragoman of the fleet served under the Ottoman admiral having administration of the Aegean islands and the Anatolian coast. Modern acknowledgement of the phrase Amīr -al-Baḥr (أمير البحر) meaning "Prince of the Sea" includes a speech made in an official U.S. military ceremony conducted in an Arabic port, and a news article published by an Arabic news outlet: On 24 May 2012, in

3922-401: The reception of new Commanders Grand Cross took place without religious ceremonies in the royal apartments, but in the presence of the other Commanders Grand Cross of the Order, of the Knights of the Seraphim, and the Commanders Grand Cross of all the other orders. By the oath the Commander elect bound himself “to defend with life and property the Evangelical-Lutheran religion, to serve faithfully

3996-483: The sea to capture the French siege artillery being sent by ship from Egypt and to deny the French army the use of the coastal road from Jaffa by bombarding the troops from the sea. Once the siege began in late March 1799, Smith anchored HMS Tigre and Theseus so their broadsides could assist the defence. Repeated French assaults were driven back, several attempts to mine the walls were prevented. By early May, replacement French siege artillery had arrived overland and

4070-469: The side swords are bound to the cross by a single gold ribbon which crosses the arms of the cross from behind. The badge hanged from a gold and enamelled royal crown. Formerly the Order also had a distinctive blue and yellow habit worn on formal occasions such as at chapters of the Order. The habit included yellow trousers , a yellow knee length coat with blue shoulder tabs and a yellow girdle , each bordered in blue, blue mantle lined with blue satin and

4144-445: The storeship Tortoise . He moved to the post ship HMS  Unicorn , and in her saw action in 1778 against the American frigate Raleigh . For his bravery under Rodney in the action near Cape St Vincent in January 1780, Sidney Smith was, on 25 September, appointed lieutenant of the 74-gun third-rate Alcide , despite being under the required age of nineteen. He distinguished himself under Admiral Thomas Graves at

4218-513: The term "has been traced to the Arab. emir or amir, lord or commander, and the Gr . ἄλιος , the sea, q. d. prince of the sea . The word is written both with and without the d, in other languages, as well as our own. Barb. Lat. admirallus and amiralius. V. Ducange. Barb. Græc. ἄμηρχλιος. V. Meursii Gloss. Græco-Barbarum, edit. 1610. p. 29. Fr. admiral and amiral. Dan. the same. Germ. ammiral. Dutch, admirael or ammirael. Ital. ammiraglio. Sp. almirante. Minsheu, in his Spanish Dictionary, says 'almiralle

4292-410: The term means "One having, holding, or possessing, command; a commander; a governor; a lord; a prince, or king." While other Greek words of the period existed to indicate "belonging to the sea," or "of the sea," the now obsolete Gr. ἄλιος mentioned in Johnson's Dictionary is expressly defined as "of the sea, Lat. marinus, epith. of sea-gods , nymphs , etc." Though there are multiple meanings for

4366-507: The term was in use for the Greco-Arab naval leaders (e.g. Christodulus ) in the Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture of Norman Sicily , which had formerly been ruled by Arabs, at least by the early 11th century. During this time, the Norman Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154) employed a Greek Christian, known as George of Antioch , who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Muslim rulers. Roger styled George in Abbasid fashion as Amir of Amirs , or Amīr al-Umarāʾ, with

4440-442: The title becoming Latinized in the 13th century as ammiratus ammiratorum . The Sicilians and later the Genoese took the first two parts of the term from their Aragon opponents and used them as one word, amiral . . The French gave their sea commanders similar titles while in Portuguese and Spanish the word changed to almirante . As the word was used by people speaking Latin or Latin-based languages it gained

4514-488: The training and transport of the landing forces and as liaison with the Turks, but his unpopularity resulted in the loss of his diplomatic credentials and his naval position as Commodore in the eastern Mediterranean. The invasion was successful and the French defeated, although Abercromby was wounded and died soon after the battle. Following this Smith then supported the army under Abercromby's successor John Hely-Hutchinson , which besieged and captured Cairo and finally took

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4588-412: The very pronunciation of ναύαρχος demonstrates that it is not a part of the etymology for the English word "admiral." The word "admiral" has come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the world's navies , equivalent to the army rank of general . However, this was not always the case; for example, in some European countries prior to the end of World War II , admiral

4662-414: Was Smith's. With the resumption of war with France in 1803, Smith was employed in the southern North Sea off the coast between Ostend and Flushing part of the forces gathered to prevent Napoleon's threatened invasion. Smith was interested in new and unusual methods of warfare. In 1804 and 1805, he worked with the American inventor Robert Fulton on his plans to develop torpedoes and mines to destroy

4736-409: Was a defeat, the withdrawal under fire was played up as a heroic feat. In the summer of 1807, Duckworth and Smith were recalled to England. In October 1807, Spain and France signed a treaty to divide Portugal between them. In November 1807, Smith was appointed to command an expedition to Lisbon , either to assist the Portuguese in resisting the attack or to destroy the Portuguese fleet and blockade

4810-420: Was added to the order. These could only be bestowed in wartime. They are the War Cross of the Order of the Sword in Gold, in Silver and in Bronze. They are worn on the same ribbon as the order and the medal consist of the cross saltire of the Order struck in gold, silver or bronze, with an upraised sword behind central medallion bearing the Swedish three crowns and in the spaces between the upper and lower arms of

4884-462: Was appointed to the British embassy to the Ottoman court in Constantinople . Smith obtained permission to travel to Turkey. While there, war broke out with Revolutionary France in January 1793. Smith recruited some British seamen and sailed to join the British fleet under Admiral Lord Hood which had occupied the French Navy's principal Mediterranean port of Toulon at the invitation of the French Royalist forces. By Smith's arrival in December 1793,

4958-422: Was created in which all recipients of all orders are awarded. The new ceremony is held in the White Sea Hall of the Stockholm Palace, decorated with the banners and insignia of the royal orders. After the King and Queen are announced by the Herald of the Royal Orders, tapping his staff on the floor twice, and make their entrance to the Seraphim March, the Chancellor of the Royal Orders makes an introduction speech and

5032-401: Was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester in Kent in the election held in 1802 . There is strong evidence that he had an affair with Princess Caroline of Brunswick , the estranged wife of the Prince of Wales . Although she became pregnant, she was notorious for having a number of other lovers at the same time, such as George Canning and Thomas Lawrence , so it is unlikely the child

5106-457: Was not necessary as the combined fleet sailed to defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805. In November 1805, Smith was promoted to rear admiral , he was again sent to the Mediterranean under the command of Collingwood, who had become the commander-in-chief following Nelson's death. Collingwood sent him to assist King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies to regain his capital of Naples from Napoleon's brother King Joseph , who had been given

5180-400: Was ordered to place himself under the command of Lord St Vincent , the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean. St Vincent gave him orders as Commodore with permission to take British ships under his command as required in the Levant . He also carried a military and diplomatic mission to Istanbul where his brother was now a Minister Plenipotentiary to the Sublime Porte . The mission's task

5254-416: Was the third highest naval rank after general admiral and grand admiral . The rank of admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, several of which are historically extinct while others remain in use in most present-day navies. The Royal Navy used the colours red, white, and blue, in descending order to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864; for example, Horatio Nelson 's highest rank

5328-504: Was to strengthen Turkish opposition to Napoleon and to assist the Turks in destroying the French army stranded in Egypt . This dual appointment caused Nelson, who was the senior officer under St Vincent in the Mediterranean, to resent Smith's apparent superseding of his authority in the Levant. Nelson's antipathy further adversely affected Smith's reputation in naval circles. Napoleon, having defeated

5402-546: Was treated as a hero, but the government continued to be suspicious of him, and he was not given any official honours. Smith was promoted to vice admiral on 31 July 1810. In the Royal Navy of the time, promotion from Post Captain to Admiral was automatic and based on seniority, not a specific reward for good service. Later that year in October 1810, he married Caroline Rumbold, the widow of a diplomat, Sir George Rumbold , with whom Smith had worked. Upon safe arrival to Brazil escorting

5476-521: Was vice-admiral of the white. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is flag officer . Some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the Cromwellian "general at sea". While the rank is used in most of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country. Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: Royal Order of

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