Colonel-in-chief is a ceremonial position in an army 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.
Contents
History
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.
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. 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.
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 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. 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, 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: King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is colonel-in-chief The Light Dragoons. King Abdullah served in the British Army as a troop commander in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, which is now The Light Dragoons.
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, while the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps has appointed every Governor-General of Australia since 2007 to serve as its colonel-in-chief.
The role has spread to other armies in the Commonwealth of Nations, at least in countries which have royal families.
List of colonels-in-chief
United Kingdom
Plymouth, Royal Naval Command – King Charles III
Aircraft Carriers – King Charles III
Royal Navy Medical Service – Queen Camilla
Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service – Queen Camilla
Scotland – William, Prince of Wales
Submarines – William, Prince of Wales
Fleet Air Arm – Catherine, Princess of Wales
Royal Fleet Auxiliary – Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Portsmouth – Anne, Princess Royal
Maritime Reserves – Prince Michael of Kent
Small Ships and Diving – vacant
Royal Marines – King Charles III (styled Captain General Royal Marines)
Women in the Royal Navy – Anne, Princess Royal (styled Chief Commandant)
The Life Guards – King Charles III
Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne (Colonel of the Regiment)
The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) – King Charles III
Anne, Princess Royal (Colonel of the Regiment)
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards – Catherine, Princess of Wales
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda Regiment – King Charles III
Australia
Royal Australian Armoured Corps – King Charles III
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery – King Charles III (styled Captain General)
Corps of Royal Australian Engineers – vacant
Royal Australian Corps of Signals – Anne, Princess Royal
Royal Australian Infantry Corps – vacant
Royal Australian Corps of Transport – Anne, Princess Royal
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps – Governor-General of Australia (ex officio)
Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps – vacant
Corps of Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers – vacant
Royal Australian Army Educational Corps – Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester
Royal Australian Corps of Military Police – Queen Camilla
Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps – vacant
Brunei Darussalam
Royal Brunei Armed Forces – Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (styled Supreme Commander)
Canada
Royal Canadian Dragoons – King Charles III
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) – King Charles III
8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) – Anne, Princess Royal
Prince Edward Island Regiment (RCAC) – Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
South Alberta Light Horse – Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Saskatchewan Dragoons – Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
The Royal Canadian Regiment – vacant
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry – Adrienne Clarkson
Royal 22nd Regiment – vacant
Queen's Own Rifles of Canada – Queen Camilla
Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada – King Charles III
Royal Regiment of Canada – King Charles III
Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment – Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Lincoln and Welland Regiment – Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Grey and Simcoe Foresters – Anne, Princess Royal
Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Royal Winnipeg Rifles – King Charles III
Jamaica
Jamaica Regiment – King Charles III
Malaysia
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 Iskandar of Johor, the current King of Malaysia
Royal Artillery Regiment and Royal Intelligence Corps – Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan
Royal Regiment of Engineers – Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak
Royal Signals Regiment – Tuanku Muhriz, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Royal Service Corps – Sultan Sallehuddin of Kedah
Royal Ordnance Corps – Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corps – Tuanku Muhriz, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Royal Malaysian Air Force – Sultan Abdullah of Pahang (styled Air Commodore-in-Chief)
Royal Malaysian Navy – Sultan Sharafuddin of Selangor (styled Commodore-in-Chief)
New Zealand
New Zealand Corps of Officer Cadets – vacant
Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery – King Charles III (styled Captain-General)
Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps – vacant (styled Captain-General)
Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers – vacant
Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals – Anne, Princess Royal
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment – vacant
New Zealand Special Air Service – vacant
New Zealand Intelligence Corps – vacant
Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment – vacant
Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Royal New Zealand Dental Corps – vacant
Royal New Zealand Chaplains Department – vacant
New Zealand Army Legal Service – vacant
Royal New Zealand Army Educational Corps – Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester
Corps of Royal New Zealand Military Police – vacant
Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps – Anne, Princess Royal
New Zealand Army Physical Training Corps – vacant
Norway
His Majesty The King's Guard – Sir Nils Olav III
Papua New Guinea
Royal Pacific Islands Regiment – King Charles III