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. The position was formerly used in the armies of several European monarchies. A Colonel-in-Chief has a purely ceremonial role in their regiment.
The Norwegian Army has taken a more whimsical approach to the position, appointing the penguin Sir Nils Olav as a Colonel-in-Chief.
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 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; pictures exist 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 literally dozens of German and (by diplomatic courtesy) Austro-Hungarian, British, Russian, and Portuguese regiments. In addition, his mother, wife, son, and daughters were also full or deputy Colonels-in-Chief of various units.
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 the regiment or corps 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:
The King of Jordan - The Light Dragoons
The Queen of Denmark - The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)
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, whilst Winston Churchill was Colonel-in-Chief of the 4th 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, while the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps decided to ask the Governor-General of Australia to serve as its Colonel-in-Chief. 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 has spread to other armies in the Commonwealth of Nations, at least in countries which have royal families.
Royal Australian Armoured Corps - The Prince of Wales
Royal Australian Infantry Corps - The Queen
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery - The Queen (Captain General)
Corps of Royal Australian Engineers - The Queen
Royal Australian Corps of Signals - The Princess Royal
Royal Australian Corps of Transport - The Princess Royal
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps - The Governor-General of Australia
Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps - The Queen
Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps - The Queen
Corps of Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - The Duke of Edinburgh
Royal Australian Army Educational Corps - The Duchess of Gloucester
Royal Australian Corps of Military Police - The Duchess of Cornwall
The Bermuda Regiment - The Duchess of Gloucester
The Royal Canadian Dragoons - The Prince of Wales
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) - The Prince of Wales
The Governor General's Horse Guards - The Queen
8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) - The Princess Royal
The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) - The Duke of York
The Prince Edward Island Regiment (RCAC) - The Earl of Wessex
South Alberta Light Horse - The Countess of Wessex
The Saskatchewan Dragoons - The Earl of Wessex
The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) - The Queen
The Royal Canadian Regiment - The Duke of Edinburgh
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - The Rt Hon Adrienne Clarkson
Royal 22e Régiment - The Queen
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada - The Duchess of Cornwall
48th Highlanders of Canada - The Queen
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) - The Queen
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada - The Prince of Wales
The Calgary Highlanders - The Queen
The Canadian Grenadier Guards - The Queen
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own) - The Duke of Edinburgh
The Essex and Kent Scottish - Prince Michael of Kent
The Grey and Simcoe Foresters - The Princess Royal
Governor General's Foot Guards - The Queen
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment - The Earl of Wessex
The Lincoln and Welland Regiment - The Countess of Wessex
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) - The Duke of Kent
The Princess Louise Fusiliers - The Duke of York
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada - The Duke of Edinburgh
Le Régiment de la Chaudière - The Queen
The Rocky Mountain Rangers - The Queen
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) - The Duke of Edinburgh
The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada - The Duke of York
The Royal New Brunswick Regiment - The Queen
Royal Newfoundland Regiment - The Princess Royal
The Royal Regiment of Canada - The Prince of Wales
The Royal Regina Rifles - The Princess Royal
The Royal Westminster Regiment - His Grace The Duke of Westminster
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles - The Prince of Wales
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - The Duke of Edinburgh
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders - The Queen
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Own) - The Prince of Wales
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) -Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry) -The Right Honourable The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
The Irish Regiment of Canada - The Prince of Wales
The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery – The Queen (styled Captain General)
Canadian Military Engineers – The Queen
Communications and Electronics Branch – The Princess Royal
Royal Canadian Medical Service – The Princess Royal
Royal Canadian Dental Corps – The Duchess of Gloucester
Legal Branch – The Queen
Further information: List of Canadian organizations with Royal Patronage: Military
Combat
Royal Malay Regiment - The Sultan of Kedah
Royal Ranger Regiment - The Raja of Perlis
Royal Armoured Corps - The Sultan of Terengganu
Special Operations Regiment - The Sultan of Johor
Combat Support
Royal Artillery Regiment - The King of Malaysia
Royal Regiment of Engineers - The Sultan of Perak
Royal Signals Regiment - The Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Service Support
Royal Service Corps - The Sultan of Kedah
Royal Ordnance Corps - The Sultan of Terengganu
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corps - The Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Royal Malaysian Air Force - The Sultan of Pahang (formerly Air Commodore-in-Chief until 1970)
Royal Malaysian Navy - The Sultan of Selangor
New Zealand
Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps - The Queen
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment - The Queen
Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery - The Queen (Captain General)
Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers - The Queen
Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals - The Princess Royal
Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment - The Duke of York
Corps of Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - The Duke of Edinburgh
Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps - The Princess Royal
Royal New Zealand Army Educational Corps - The Duchess of Gloucester
His Majesty The King's Guard - Sir Nils Olav, a penguin
Royal Pacific Islands Regiment - The Prince of Wales
The Life Guards - HM The Queen
The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) - HM The Queen
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards - HRH The Prince of Wales
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) - HM The Queen
The Royal Dragoon Guards - HRH The Prince of Wales
The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) - The Duke of Edinburgh
The Royal Lancers - HM The Queen
The King's Royal Hussars - The Princess Royal
The Light Dragoons - The King of Jordan
The Royal Tank Regiment - HM The Queen
The Royal Yeomanry - HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy LG GCVO
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry - HRH The Earl of Wessex
The Queen's Own Yeomanry - HRH The Prince of Wales
The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry - to be confirmed
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
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)
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
