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====Infantry====
====Infantry====
*[[The Parachute Regiment (Para's) ]] - [[Brandon Sharples]]
[[File:Prince Philip as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] with troops of the [[The Royal Canadian Regiment]], of which he is Colonel-in-Chief, in 2013]]
[[File:Prince Philip as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] with troops of the [[The Royal Canadian Regiment]], of which he is Colonel-in-Chief, in 2013]]
*[[The Royal Canadian Regiment]] - [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|The Duke of Edinburgh]]
*[[The Royal Canadian Regiment]] - [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|The Duke of Edinburgh]]

Revision as of 13:03, 23 September 2015

Not to be confused with Commander in Chief or Colonel of the Regiment.

In several Commonwealth armies, Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in each regiment. It is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family.

Role

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.[when?] While it is traditional for a royal personage to hold the position,[1][failed verification] it is at the discretion of the regiment or corps[clarification needed] whom they invite.

As of 2015, most Colonels-in-Chief in the British Army are members of the British royal family. However, two foreign monarchs hold the position[citation needed]:

Winston Churchill inspecting the Queen's Own Hussars, of which he was Colonel-in-Chief, in Italy during 1944

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[which?], whilst Winston Churchill was Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Own Hussars, the regiment he served in before entering politics. The Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson was invited to be Colonel-in-Chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry,[2] while the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps decided to ask the Governor-General of Australia to serve as its Colonel-in-Chief.[3] These exceptions, however, do not change the raison d'être of the post, which is to serve as a personal link between regiment and Monarch.[citation needed]

The role has spread to other armies in the Commonwealth of Nations, at least in countries which have royal families. Beyond the Commonwealth, the Norwegian Army has taken a more whimsical approach to the position, appointing the penguin Sir Nils Olav as a Colonel-in-Chief.[4][5]

List of Colonels-in-Chief

Australien

Bermuda

  • The Bermuda Regiment - The Duchess of Gloucester

Kanada

Armoured

Infantry

The Duke of Edinburgh with troops of the The Royal Canadian Regiment, of which he is Colonel-in-Chief, in 2013

Personnel branches

Further information: List of Canadian organizations with Royal Patronage: Military

Malaysia

Malaysian Army

Combat
Combat Support
Service Support

Royal Malaysian Air Force

Royal Malaysian Navy

Neuseeland

Norwegen

Sir Nils Olav, Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian King's Guard (and a penguin)

Papua-Neuguinea

Vereinigtes Königreich

Cavalry

File:Her Majesty Queen Elizabth II inspecting the Royal Lancers at their amalgamation parade.jpg
Elizabeth II inspecting troops of the Royal Lancers, of which she is Colonel-in-Chief, in 2015

Infantry

  • Coldstream Guards - The Queen
  • The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) - The Queen
  • Grenadier Guards - The Queen
  • Irish Guards - The Queen
  • The Mercian Regiment - The Prince of Wales
  • The Parachute Regiment - The Prince of Wales
  • The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) - The Queen of Denmark
  • The Rifles - The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Royal Anglian Regiment - The Duke of Gloucester
  • The Royal Gibraltar Regiment - HE The Governor of Gibraltar
  • The Royal Gurkha Rifles - The Prince of Wales
  • The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) - The Duke of York
  • The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers - The Duke of Kent
  • The Royal Regiment of Scotland - The Queen
  • The Royal Welsh - The Queen
  • Scots Guards - The Queen
  • Welsh Guards - The Queen
  • The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) - The Duke of York

Combat Support

  • Army Air Corps - The Prince of Wales
  • Corps of Royal Engineers - The Queen
  • Intelligence Corps - The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Royal Corps of Signals - The Princess Royal
  • Royal Regiment of Artillery - The Queen (styled Captain-General)

Combat Service Support

  • Adjutant General's Corps - The Queen
  • Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps - The Countess of Wessex
  • 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 - The Duke of York

References

  1. ^ See this list of Colonel-in-Chief appointments held by The Prince of Wales.
  2. ^ Clarkson to be given military honour Edmonton Journal 04/02/07
  3. ^ GG’s new role Department of Defence, 31/05/07
  4. ^ Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'". BBC News. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II accepts Royal Appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces' Legal Branch". Department of National Defence. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
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