Editing Salute (section)

====United Kingdom====

===== British Army =====
[[File:Tri-Service Personnel Saluting MOD 45151321.jpg|thumb|(Left to right) 
{{bulleted list|Royal Air Force palm facing out, behind right eye|British Army with palm facing out. fingers almost touching cap.|Royal Navy with the palm facing down}}]]
Since 1917, the British Army's salute has been given with the right hand palm facing forwards with the fingers almost touching the cap or beret. Before 1917, for Other Ranks (i.e. not officers) the salute was given with whichever hand was furthest from the person being saluted, whether that was the right or the left. Officers always saluted with the right hand (as the left, in theory, would always be required to hold the scabbard of their sword).<ref>''General Jack's Diary'' ed by John Terraine</ref> The salute is given to acknowledge the King's commission. A salute may not be given unless a soldier is wearing his regimental headdress, for example a [[beret]], [[caubeen]], [[Tam o' Shanter (cap)|Tam o' Shanter]], [[Glengarry]], field service cap or peaked cap. This does not apply to members of The Blues and Royals (RHG/1stD) The Household Cavalry who, after The [[Battle of Warburg]] were allowed to salute without headdress. Soldiers or officers not wearing headdress must come to attention instead of giving/returning the salute. The subordinate salutes first and maintains the salute until the superior has responded in kind.

There is a widespread though erroneous belief that it is statutory for "all ranks to salute a bearer of the [[Victoria Cross]]". There is no official requirement that appears in the official Warrant of the VC, nor in King's Regulations and Orders, but tradition dictates that this occurs and as such the Chiefs of Staff will salute a Private awarded either a VC or [[George Cross]].

===== Royal Air Force =====
The custom of saluting commissioned officers relates wholly to the commission given by the King to that officer, not the person.<ref name="Frequently Asked Questions">{{cite web |title=Royal Air Force website: ''Frequently Asked Questions – Who do you salute'' |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/links/faqs.cfm |access-date=13 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502065436/http://www.raf.mod.uk/links/faqs.cfm |archive-date=2 May 2010 }}</ref> Therefore, when a subordinate airman salutes an officer, he is indirectly acknowledging the King as Head of State. A salute returned by the officer is on behalf of the King.

The RAF salute is similar to the British Army, the hand is brought upwards in a circular motion out from the body, it is stopped 1 inch (25&nbsp;mm) to the rear and to the right of the right eye, the elbow and wrist are kept in line with the shoulder. The hand is then brought straight down back to the position of attention, this movement is completed to the timing "UP TWO-THREE CUT".<ref>Air Officer Administration Headquarters Personnel and Training Command. Royal Air Force Publication AP818 (RAF Drill and Ceremonial) 7th edition. Royal Air force, No date, p. 73, [https://learning.bader.mod.uk/Global/AP818%20Drill%20and%20Ceremonial/20061003%20-%20AP%20818%20-%20u.pdf available here]</ref>

===== Royal Navy =====
The Naval salute differs in that the palm of the hand faces down towards the shoulder. This dates back to the days of sailing ships, when tar and pitch were used to seal a ship's timbers from seawater. To protect their hands, officers wore white gloves and it was considered most undignified to present a dirty palm in the salute, so the hand was turned through 90 degrees.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} A common story is that Queen Victoria, having been saluted by an individual with a dirty palm, decreed that in future sailors of the fleet would salute palm down, with the palm facing the ground.<ref name="n526" />

====== Royal Marines ======
Though part of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines salute in the style of the British Army, with the right hand palm facing forward.<ref>{{cite web|author=Royal Navy |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2017/august/02/170802-duke-of-edinburgh-receives-royals-salute |title=Duke of Edinburgh receives Royal's salute at last public engagement |publisher=Royal Navy |date=2 August 2017 |access-date=12 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Sgt. Bobby Yarbrough |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/image/1042165/saluting-colors |title=Saluting the colors [Image 9 of 10] |publisher=Dvids |date=23 October 2013 |access-date=12 November 2018}}</ref>

===== British Empire =====
In the British Empire (originally in the maritime and hinterland sphere of influence of the [[East India Company]], HEIC, later transformed into crown territories), mainly in [[British India]], the numbers of guns fired as a ''gun salute'' to the ruler of a so-called [[princely state]] became a politically [[salute state|highly significant indicator of his status]], not governed by objective rules, but awarded (and in various cases increased) by the British paramount power, roughly reflecting his state's socio-economic, political and/or military weight, but also as a prestigious reward for loyalty to the Raj, in classes (always odd numbers) from three to twenty-one (seven lacking), for the "vassal" indigenous rulers (normally hereditary with a throne, sometimes raised as a personal distinction for an individual ruling prince). Two sovereign monarchies officially outside the Empire were granted a higher honour: thirty-one guns for the royal houses of Afghanistan (under British and Russian influence), and [[Siam]] (which was then ruled by the [[Rattanakosin Kingdom]]).

In addition, the right to style himself ''Highness'' ([[Majesty]], which since its Roman origin expresses the sovereign authority of the state, was denied to all "vassals"), a title of great importance in international relations, was formally restricted to rulers of relatively high salute ranks (originally only those with eleven guns or more, later also those with nine guns).