Royal Colonel is an appointment made by the British monarch, currently King Charles III, to members of the British Royal Family who are appointed to the position of Colonel-in-Chief or Colonel of a regiment within the British or Commonwealth army. Royal Colonel appointments are made for regiments and military units of the British Army. Similar roles exist in honorary Air Commodores-in-Chief and Air Commodores for the Royal Air Force, and honorary Commodore-in-Chief for the Royal Navy.
These appointments are honorary and allow the holder to wear the regimental uniform with rank insignia of (full) colonel, regardless of their official rank. They are a ceremonial appointment designed to further strengthen the bond between the British Army and the Royal Family.
The appointment of Royal Colonels is made by the Sovereign and is announced in a press release issued by Buckingham Palace. [1]
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant or secretary to a person of high rank, usually a senior military, police or government officer, or to a member of a royal family or a head of state.
Air commodore is a air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure.
The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG) or general officer commanding (GOC), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as they see fit, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities, duties, and powers.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
A senior officer is an officer of a more senior grade in military or other uniformed services. In military organisations, the term may refer to any officer above junior officer rank, but usually specifically refers to the middle-ranking group of commissioned officers above junior officer ranks but below flag, general or air rank. In most countries, this includes the ranks of lieutenant commander/major/squadron leader, commander/lieutenant colonel/wing commander and naval captain/colonel/group captain, or their equivalents. In some countries, it also includes brigadiers and commodores.
Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honorary role outside the executive military structure, such as advocacy for the troops.
The Indian Army, the land component of the Indian Armed Forces, follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile British Indian Army (BIA).
Colonel is a Canadian Forces rank used by commissioned officers who wear the army, air force or special operations uniform. Captain(N) is the equivalent rank for officers who wear the navy uniform. A colonel is senior to the army and air force rank of lieutenant-colonel or the naval rank of commander, and junior to the army and air force rank of brigadier-general or the naval rank of commodore.
Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; Elizabeth II's reign used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force.
The officer ranks of the Royal Air Force, as they are today, were introduced in 1919. Prior to that Army ranks were used.
Lieutenant Colonel, is a rank in the British Army and Royal Marines which is also used in many Commonwealth countries. The rank is superior to major, and subordinate to colonel. The comparable Royal Navy rank is commander, and the comparable rank in the Royal Air Force and many Commonwealth air forces is wing commander.
These are the official Royal Navy Officer ranks ordered by rank. These ranks are part of the NATO/United Kingdom ranks, including modern and past. Past insignia is in italic.
Commodore-in-chief is an honorary appointment bestowed by the monarch of the Commonwealth realms on various members of the Royal Family. Previously, there have been honorary air commodores-in-chief in the British Royal Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force, but no parallel affiliations with the navies of either country.
Brigadier (Brig) is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. Brigadier is the superior rank to colonel, and subordinate to major-general. It corresponds to the rank of brigadier general in many other nations.
Many members of the British Royal Family have seen service in British or other Commonwealth armed forces, others hold honorary ranks or positions. This is a list detailing formal military service by members of the British royal family.
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.
As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.