Admiral of the Fleet Richard James Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam, styled Lord Gillford until 1879, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he served at the Battle of Escape Creek and at the Battle of Fatshan Creek during the campaign against Chinese pirates. He also took part in the Battle of Canton, where he was severely wounded, during the Second Opium War.

Admiral of the Fleet is a five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the Royal Navy, formally established in 1688. The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, equivalent to a field marshal in the British Army or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force. Apart from honorary appointments, no new admirals of the fleet have been named since 1995, and no honorary appointments have been made since 2014.