Colonel-in-chief: Difference between revisions
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* [[RAF Halton]] — The Queen |
* [[RAF Halton]] — The Queen |
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* [[RAF Henlow]] — ''vacant'' |
* [[RAF Henlow]] — ''vacant'' |
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* [[RAF High Wycombe]] |
* [[RAF High Wycombe]] — ''vacant'' |
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* [[RAF Honington]] — ''vacant'' |
* [[RAF Honington]] — ''vacant'' |
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* [[RAF Leeming]] — The Queen |
* [[RAF Leeming]] — The Queen |
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* [[No. 612 Squadron RAF|612 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[Simon Arthur, 4th Baron Glenarthur|The Lord Glenarthur]] |
* [[No. 612 Squadron RAF|612 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[Simon Arthur, 4th Baron Glenarthur|The Lord Glenarthur]] |
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* [[No. 4626 Squadron RAuxAF|4626 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook|The Lord Beaverbrook]] |
* [[No. 4626 Squadron RAuxAF|4626 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook|The Lord Beaverbrook]] |
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* 7006 Squadron, [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — Christopher Andrew |
* 7006 Squadron, [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[Christopher Andrew (historian)|Christopher Andrew]] |
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* 7630 Squadron, [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[David Cousins|Sir David Cousins]] |
* 7630 Squadron, [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] — [[David Cousins|Sir David Cousins]] |
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Revision as of 15:37, 3 September 2023
Colonel-in-chief is a ceremonial position in a military regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family.
Some armed forces take other approaches to the position, appointing animals or characters as colonel-in-chief. The Norwegian Army, for example, appointed a penguin named Sir Nils Olav as a colonel-in-chief.[1][2]
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2015) |
Historically a colonel-in-chief was the ceremonial head of a regiment, usually a member of a European country's royal family. The practice extends at least back to 1740 in Prussia when Frederick II held that position (German: Regimentschef) in the newly created Garde du Corps, an elite heavy cavalry regiment.[3][unreliable source?]
By the late 19th century the designation could be given to the children of royalty; there are pictures of the daughters of Russian Czar Nicholas II in the uniforms of their regiments.[4] The German Kaiser Wilhelm II carried the title to an extreme, holding it in literally dozens of German and (by diplomatic courtesy) Austro-Hungarian, British, Russian, and Portuguese regiments. His mother, wife, son, and daughters were also full or deputy colonels-in-chief of various units. [3]
Role
In modern usage, the colonel-in-chief of a regiment is its (usually royal) patron, who has a ceremonial role in the life of the regiment. They do not have an operational role, or the right to issue orders, but are kept informed of all important activities of the regiment and pay occasional visits to its units. The chief purpose of the colonel-in-chief is to maintain a direct link between the regiment and the royal family.[citation needed] Some artillery regiments have a captain-general instead of a colonel-in-chief, but the posts are essentially the same.
The position of colonel-in-chief is distinct from the other ceremonial regimental posts of colonel of the regiment and honorary colonel, which are usually retired military officers or public figures with ties to the regiment.
Colonels-in-chief are appointed at the invitation of the regiment. While it is traditional for a royal personage to hold the position,[citation needed] it is at the discretion of each regiment whom they invite.
As of 2015[update], most colonels-in-chief in the British Army are members of the British royal family. However, two foreign monarchs hold the position:[citation needed]
- Abdullah II of Jordan - The Light Dragoons
- Margrethe II of Denmark - The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)
In the past non-royal persons have held, or been invited to hold, the post of colonel-in-chief. The Duke of Wellington was colonel-in-chief of the regiment that bore his name. The Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson was invited to be colonel-in-chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry,[5] while the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps decided to ask the Governor-General of Australia to serve as its colonel-in-chief.[6]
The role has spread to other armies in the Commonwealth of Nations, at least in countries which have royal families.[citation needed]
List of colonels-in-chief
United Kingdom
Royal Navy (styled Commodore-in-Chief)
- Plymouth — The King
- Aircraft Carriers — The King
- Royal Navy Medical Service — The Queen
- Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service — The Queen
- Scotland — The Prince of Wales
- Submarines — The Prince of Wales
- Fleet Air Arm — The Princess of Wales
- Royal Fleet Auxiliary — The Duke of Edinburgh
- Portsmouth — The Princess Royal
- Maritime Reserves — Prince Michael of Kent
- Small Ships and Diving — vacant
- Royal Marines — The King (styled Captain General Royal Marines)
British Army
Cavalry
- The Life Guards — The King
- The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) — The King
- 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards — The Princess of Wales
- The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) — The King
- The Royal Dragoon Guards — The Duke of Edinburgh
- The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish) — The Duke of Edinburgh
- The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) — The Queen
- The King's Royal Hussars — The Princess Royal
- The Light Dragoons — The King of Jordan
- The Royal Tank Regiment — The King
- The Royal Yeomanry — Princess Alexandra
- The Royal Wessex Yeomanry — The Duke of Edinburgh
- The Queen's Own Yeomanry — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry — vacant
Infantry
- Grenadier Guards — The King
- Coldstream Guards — The King
- Scots Guards — The King
- Irish Guards — The King
- Welsh Guards — The King
- The Royal Regiment of Scotland — The King
- The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) — The Queen of Denmark
- The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) — The King
- The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers — The Duke of Kent
- The Royal Anglian Regiment — The Duke of Gloucester
- The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) — vacant
- The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) — The Prince of Wales
- The Royal Welsh — vacant
- Royal Irish Regiment — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- The Parachute Regiment — The King
- The Royal Gurkha Rifles — The King
- The Rifles — The Queen
- The Royal Gibraltar Regiment — The Governor of Gibraltar
- The Royal Bermuda Regiment — The Duchess of Gloucester
Combat Support
- Army Air Corps — The Prince of Wales
- Corps of Royal Engineers — The King
- Intelligence Corps — The Princess Royal
- Royal Corps of Signals — The Princess Royal
- Royal Regiment of Artillery — The King (styled Captain-General)
Combat Service Support
- Adjutant General's Corps — The Duchess of Gloucester
- Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Royal Army Dental Corps — The Duchess of Gloucester
- Royal Army Medical Corps — The Duke of Gloucester
- Royal Army Veterinary Corps — The Princess Royal
- Royal Logistic Corps — The Princess Royal
- Small Arms School Corps — vacant
Royal Air Force (styled Honorary Air Commodore)
- Royal Air Force — The King (styled Air Commodore-in-Chief)
- RAF Regiment — The King (styled Air Commodore-in-Chief)
- RAF Regiment — Sir Stephen Dalton
- Royal Auxiliary Air Force — The Duke of Gloucester (styled Colonel-in-Chief)
- Royal Air Force Air Cadets — The Princess of Wales (styles Honorary Air Commandant)
- Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service — Princess Alexandra (styled Air Chief Commandant)
- RAF Ascension Island — vacant
- RAF Akrotiri — vacant
- RAF Benson — Prince Michael of Kent (styled Honorary Air Marshal)
- RAF Boulmer — vacant
- RAF Brize Norton — The Princess Royal
- RAF Coningsby — The Princess of Wales
- RAF Cosford — vacant
- RAF Cranwell — vacant
- RAF Digby — vacant
- RAF Gibraltar — vacant
- RAF Halton — The Queen
- RAF Henlow — vacant
- RAF High Wycombe — vacant
- RAF Honington — vacant
- RAF Leeming — The Queen
- RAF Lossiemouth — vacant
- RAF Marham — The King
- RAF Northolt — vacant
- RAF Odiham — The Duke of Gloucester
- RAF Shawbury — vacant
- RAF Spadeadam — vacant
- RAF St Mawgan — vacant
- RAF Syerston — vacant
- RAF Valley — The Prince of Wales
- RAF Waddington — The Duke of Edinburgh
- RAF Wittering — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- RAF Woodvale — vacant
- RAF Wyton — vacant
- University of London Air Squadron — The Princess Royal
- 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force — The Duke of Gloucester
- 600 (City of London) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force — The Viscount Trenchard
- 612 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force — The Lord Glenarthur
- 4626 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force — The Lord Beaverbrook
- 7006 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force — Christopher Andrew
- 7630 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force — Sir David Cousins
Australia
- Royal Australian Armoured Corps — The King
- Royal Australian Infantry Corps — vacant
- Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery — vacant (styled Captain General)
- Corps of Royal Australian Engineers — vacant
- Royal Australian Corps of Signals — The Princess Royal
- Royal Australian Corps of Transport — The Princess Royal
- Royal Australian Army Medical Corps — The Governor-General of Australia
- Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps — vacant
- Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps — vacant
- Corps of Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers — vacant
- Royal Australian Army Educational Corps — The Duchess of Gloucester
- Royal Australian Corps of Military Police — The Queen
Brunei Darussalam
- Royal Brunei Armed Forces — Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (styled Supreme Commander)
Canada
Canadian Army
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
- Royal Canadian Dragoons — The King
- Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) — The King
- 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) — The Princess Royal
- Prince Edward Island Regiment (RCAC) — The Duke of Edinburgh
- South Alberta Light Horse — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Saskatchewan Dragoons — The Duke of Edinburgh
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry — Adrienne Clarkson
- Queen's Own Rifles of Canada — The Queen
- Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada — The King
- Royal Regiment of Canada — The King
- Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment — The Duke of Edinburgh
- Lincoln and Welland Regiment — The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Grey and Simcoe Foresters — The Princess Royal
- Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) — The Duke of Kent
- Royal Winnipeg Rifles — The King
- Essex and Kent Scottish — Prince Michael of Kent
- Royal Regina Rifles — The Princess Royal
- Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) — Princess Alexandra
- Irish Regiment of Canada — The King
- Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own) — The King
- Royal Newfoundland Regiment — The Princess Royal
Personnel Branches
- Communications and Electronics Branch — The Princess Royal
- Royal Canadian Medical Service — The Princess Royal
- Royal Canadian Dental Corps — The Duchess of Gloucester
Malaysia
Malaysian Army
Combat
- Royal Malay Regiment — Sultan Sallehuddin of Kedah
- Royal Ranger Regiment — Raja Sirajuddin of Perlis
- Royal Armoured Corps — Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu
- Special Operations Regiment — Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor
Combat Support
- Royal Artillery Regiment and Royal Intelligence Corps — Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan
- Royal Regiment of Engineers — Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak
- Royal Signals Regiment — Muhriz, Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Service Support
- Royal Service Corps — Sultan Sallehuddin of Kedah
- Royal Ordnance Corps — Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu
- Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corps — Muhriz, Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Royal Malaysian Air Force
Royal Malaysian Navy
New Zealand
- Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery — vacant (styled Captain-General)
- Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps — vacant (styled Captain-General)
- Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment — vacant
- Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers — vacant
- Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals — The Princess Royal
- Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment — vacant
- Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps — The Duke of Gloucester
- Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps — The Princess Royal
- Royal New Zealand Army Educational Corps — The Duchess of Gloucester
Norway
Papua New Guinea
References
- ^ a b Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh. Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'". BBC News. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Colonel-in-Chiefs belonging to the Hohenzollern Family".
- ^ "Granduchessa Maria Nikolaevna di Russia". Getty Images.
- ^ "Clarkson to be given military honour". Edmonton Journal. 4 February 2007. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008.
- ^ "GG's new role". Department of Defence. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.