King Charles announces military appointments for working members of royal family

Britain’s King Charles, following his accession as monarch, is pleased to announce further military appointments for working members of the Royal Family.

The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in King Charles's reign.

The Royal family shared the new appointments on its official website

The King

The King will take on the following military affiliations:

• Sponsor, HMS Queen Elizabeth
• Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
• Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Tank Regiment
• Captain General, The Royal Artillery
• Captain General, The Honourable Artillery Company
• Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Regiment of Scotland
• Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Marham
• Air Commodore-in-Chief, RAF Regiment

The King, as Sovereign, is Head of the Armed Forces. He is a military veteran himself, having trained and served in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

The Queen

Patron, The Royal Army Chaplains’ Department

The Queen has a range of military affiliations and was recently announced as the new Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers. 

Queen’s father, the late Major Bruce Shand, served with the 12th Lancers during World War II. Her other military appointments include Colonel Grenadier Guards and Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles.

The Prince of Wales

Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps

Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment

Royal Honorary Air Commodore, R.A.F. Valley

The Prince of Wales has a strong affiliation with the Armed Forces, having served in the Army as a Platoon Commander in The Blues and Royals, before completing flying training in the Royal Air Force. 

He also served as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot, spending three years at RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales.

The Princess of Wales

Commodore-in-Chief, Fleet Air Arm

Colonel-in-Chief, 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards

Royal Honorary Air Commodore, R.A.F. Coningsby

The Princess of Wales’s existing military appointments include Colonel, Irish Guards and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the Air Cadets. 

She is also the Sponsor of HMS Glasgow – the first of the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 Frigates which is currently under construction. The Princess’s grandfather served in the Royal Air Force.

The Duke of Edinburgh

Colonel-in-Chief, The Queen’s Royal Hussars

Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Dragoon Guards

The Duke of Edinburgh holds a range of military appointments. For twenty years, His Royal Highness has served as Royal Honorary Colonel of The Royal Wessex Yeomanry, whose troops have deployed in support of both The Queen’s Royal Hussars and The Royal Dragoon Guards. 

He is also Royal Colonel of 2nd Battalion The Rifles, and was recently announced as Colonel-in-Chief of The London Guards.

The Duchess of Edinburgh

Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Irish Regiment

Royal Colonel, The Queen’s Own Yeomanry

The Duchess of Edinburgh’s military appointments include Royal Colonel of 5th Battalion The Rifles and Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Wittering. 

Every year, The Duchess holds an annual competition in which Her Royal Highness’s affiliated regiments from the UK and Canada compete against each other in a series of challenges, to foster cooperation.

The Princess Royal

Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Regiment of Scotland

The King has been pleased to appoint The Princess Royal Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, recognising her strong links to Scotland and existing links with the Regiment as Colonel-in-Chief of both 1st Battalion The Ranger Regiment (formerly 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland) and 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The King also announced military honours for the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.