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In the various Commonwealth armies, the Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment is its (usually royal) patron. This position is distinct from that of Colonel of the Regiment. They do not have an operational role. They are however kept informed of all important activities of the regiment, and pay occasional visits to its operational units. Their chief purpose is to maintain a direct link between the regiment and the Royal Family.

Currently in the British Army, two foreign monarchs hold the position of Colonel-in-Chief of British regiments:

While it is traditional for a royal personage to hold the position,[1] it is at the discretion of the regiment or corps whom they invite to be their Colonel-in-Chief. This can be seen by the fact that the Duke of Wellington was Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment that bore his name, and through the invitation to Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson 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. The role of Colonel in Chief is not to be confused with that of Honorary Colonel.

Colonels-in-Chief[]

Australia[]

Bermuda[]

  • The Bermuda Regiment - The Duchess of Gloucester

Canada[]

Armoured[]

Infantry[]

Personnel branches[]

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

Malaysia[]

Malaysian Army[]

Combat[]
Combat Support[]
  • Royal Artillery Regiment - The Sultan of Kelantan
  • Royal Regiment of Engineers - The Sultan of Perak
  • Royal Signals Regiment - The Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan

Royal Malaysian Air Force[]

New Zealand[]

Norway[]

Papua New Guinea[]

United Kingdom[]

Cavalry[]

  • 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards - The Prince of Wales
  • 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) - The Duke of York
  • The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) - The Queen
  • The King's Royal Hussars - The Princess Royal
  • The Life Guards - The Queen
  • The Light Dragoons - The King of Jordan
  • The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish) - The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Queen's Royal Lancers - The Queen
  • The Royal Dragoon Guards - The Prince of Wales
  • The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry - The Queen
  • The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) - The Queen
  • The Royal Tank Regiment - The Queen

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 (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[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Colonel-in-Chief and the edit history here.
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