Air Commodore-in-Chief is a senior honorary air force appointment which originated in the Royal Air Force and now exists in the air forces of various Commonwealth realms. Appointees are made Air Commodore-in-Chief of a large air force organisation or formation. Initially only the British monarch held air commodore-in-chief appointments. However, since the second half of the 20th century, other members of the royal family have been appointed to such positions in the United Kingdom and the other realms such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. As of 2020, these appointments have been given to just six senior members of the royal family, of whom four were reigning or future monarchs of the Commonwealth realms.

Air commodore-in-chief appointments do not confer a rank, be it air commodore or otherwise. Air commodore-in-chief appointments are more senior than honorary air commodore appointments. The equivalent naval title of Commodore-in-Chief was introduced in 2006.

Air commodores-in-chief

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), held the following appointments:

United Kingdom United Kingdom

King George VI

King George VI held the following appointments:

United Kingdom United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II held the following appointments:

Australia Australia
  • Australia 1954  – 2022 : Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Australian Citizen Air Force[7]
Canada Canada
  • Canada 1953  – 1968: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Air Force Auxiliary[8]
New Zealand New Zealand
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Prince Philip

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, held the following appointments:

Canada / Canada Canada
United Kingdom United Kingdom

King Charles III

King Charles III, held the following appointments:

United Kingdom United Kingdom


New Zealand New Zealand

References

  1. ↑ "No. 33831". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1932. p. 3582.
  2. ↑ The Air Force List, September 1943
  3. 1 2 "air commodore-in-chief | air force | king | 1950 | 1255 | Flight Archive". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Air Cadet Organisation Web Site". Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "No. 38077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 September 1947. p. 4469.
  6. ↑ "No. 40140". The London Gazette. 11 April 1950. p. 2051.
  7. ↑ "No. 40140". The London Gazette. 6 April 1954. p. 2051.
  8. 1 2 "No. 39864". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2995.
  9. ↑ "New Zealand Defence Force marks passing of Queen Elizabeth II". 9 September 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2940.
  11. ↑ "KING CHARLES III BECOMES AIR COMMODORE-IN-CHIEF OF THE RAF". raf.mod.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "No. 47237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1977. p. 7127.
  13. ↑ "Honorary Appointments to the New Zealand Defence Force". New Zealand Gazette. 6 August 2015.
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