Admiral of the Realm was a military and political title given to nobles in Denmark-Norway (Danish: Rigsadmiral), Sweden (Swedish: Riksamiral) and Holy Roman Empire (German: Reichsadmiral).
Almost at the same time in the 1570s, both Sweden and in Denmark-Norway created the Admiral of the Realm, and almost simultaneously it was abolished in both kingdoms in the 1670s again.
In both kingdoms the Admiral of the Realm was Supreme Commander of all naval forces and chairman of the admiralty.
Commander-in-chiefs (Danish: øverste kaptajn) of the Danish-Norwegian fleets, appointed by the King, had existed since the beginning of the 16th century.
The office holder was a member of the Swedish Privy Council and the head of the navy and Admiralty of Sweden.