Wikipedia

Colonel-in-chief

(Redirected from Colonel in Chief)
Not to be confused with Commander-in-chief or Colonel of the Regiment.

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 a light-hearted approach to the position, appointing animals or characters as colonel-in-chief. The Norwegian Army, for example, appointed a king penguin named Sir Nils Olav as a colonel-in-chief.[1][2]

History

edit

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 dozens of German and (by diplomatic courtesy) Austro-Hungarian (called Inhaber), British, Russian, and Portuguese regiments. His mother, wife, son, and daughters were also full or deputy colonels-in-chief of various units. [3]

Role

edit

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 any 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 2024, most colonels-in-chief in the British Army are members of the British royal family. However, one foreign monarch holds the position:[citation needed]

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

edit

United Kingdom

edit

Royal Navy (styled Commodore-in-Chief)

edit

British Army

edit
Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps
edit
Household Cavalry
edit
Line Cavalry
edit
Royal Tank Regiment
edit
Yeomanry
edit
Infantry
edit
Foot Guards
edit
  • Grenadier Guards — King Charles III
    • Queen Camilla (Colonel of the Regiment)
  • Coldstream Guards — King Charles III
  • Scots Guards — King Charles III
    • Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Colonel of the Regiment)
  • Irish Guards — King Charles III
    • Catherine, Princess of Wales (Colonel of the Regiment)
  • Welsh Guards — King Charles III
    • William, Prince of Wales (Colonel of the Regiment)
  • London Guards — vacant
    • Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Colonel of the Regiment)
Line Infantry and Rifles
edit
Airborne Infantry
edit
Special Operations
edit
  • Ranger Regiment — vacant
    • 1st Battalion — Anne, Princess Royal
    • 4th Battalion — Queen Camilla
Special Forces
edit
Combat Support and Army Air Corps
edit
Combat Service Support
edit
Army Medical Services
edit
Overseas Regiments
edit

Royal Air Force (styled Honorary Air Commodore)

edit

Antigua and Barbuda

edit

Australia

edit

Brunei Darussalam

edit

Canada

edit
Further information: List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage § Military, and Monarchy of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces

Canadian Army

edit
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
edit
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
edit
Royal Canadian Engineers
edit
Personnel branches
edit

Jamaica

edit

Malaysia

edit

Malaysian Army

edit
Combat
edit
Combat Support
edit
Service Support
edit

Royal Malaysian Air Force

edit

Royal Malaysian Navy

edit

New Zealand

edit
  • New Zealand Corps of Officer Cadets — vacant

Norway

edit
 
Sir Nils Olav (a king penguin) inspects troops of the Norwegian Royal Guard, of which he is Colonel-in-Chief

Papua New Guinea

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh. Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'". BBC News. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Colonel-in-Chiefs belonging to the Hohenzollern Family".
  4. ^ "Granduchessa Maria Nikolaevna di Russia". Getty Images.
  5. ^ "Clarkson to be given military honour". Edmonton Journal. 4 February 2007. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008.
  6. ^ "GG's new role". Department of Defence. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  7. ^ "Head of Regiment Order of the Day" (PDF). Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. ^ Canadian Army [@CanadianArmy] (11 August 2023). "Today, His Majesty King Charles III, King of Canada, has graciously announced that he will adopt the Royal Appointment of Captain General of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 March 2024 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "New RNZA Captain General". The Royal New Zealand Artillery Association. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Colonel-in-chief&oldid=1257521138"