British Armed Forces Commander-in-chief is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, to whom members of the forces swear allegiance. The UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines among with all other forces do not require this act. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, headed by the Secretary of State for Defence. The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers, is
Demobilisation of the British Armed Forces after the Second World War Demobilisation of the British Armed Forces after the Second World War At the end of the Second World War, there were approximately five million servicemen and servicewomen in the British Armed Forces. The demobilisation and reassimilation of this vast force back into civilian life was one of the first and greatest challenges facing the postwar British government. The wartime Minister of Labour and National Service, Ernest Bevin, was the chief architect of the demobilisation plan, which was unveiled to the public on September 22, 1944. Most servicemen and servicewomen were to be released from the armed forces according to their