Lieutenant general | |
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![]() ![]() Lt Gen insignia | |
![]() Lieutenant General John Cooper wearing both American three-star insignia and British lieutenant general insignia | |
Country | ![]() |
Service branch | ![]() ![]() |
Abbreviation | Lt-Gen |
NATO rank code | OF-8 |
Non-NATO rank | O-8 |
Next higher rank | General |
Next lower rank | Major-general |
Equivalent ranks |
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Lieutenant general (Lt Gen), formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations.
Lieutenant general is a superior rank to major general, but subordinate to a (full) general. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-8, equivalent to a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and an air marshal in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries.
The rank insignia for both the Army and the Royal Marines is a crown over a crossed sabre and baton. During the Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the St Edward's Crown, commonly known as the Queen's Crown, was depicted. Before 1953, and again since the accession of King Charles III in 2022, the Tudor Crown, commonly known as the King's Crown, has been used.