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 penguin named Sir Nils Olav as a colonel-in-chief.[1][2]

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.[3]

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 (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

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. 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 2015, most colonels-in-chief in the British Army are members of the British royal family. However, two foreign monarchs hold the position:

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.

List of colonels-in-chief

United Kingdom

Royal Navy (styled Commodore-in-Chief)

British Army

Cavalry
Infantry
Combat Support
Combat Service Support

Royal Air Force (styled Honorary Air Commodore)

Australia

Brunei Darussalam

Canada

Canadian Army

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
Personnel Branches

Malaysia

Malaysian Army

Combat
Combat Support
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

Norway

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

Papua New Guinea

References

  1. 1 2 Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh. Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 "Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'". BBC News. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 "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.
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