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Captain General Royal Marines

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Captain General Royal Marines
Incumbent
King Charles III
since 28 October 2022
Royal Marines
AbbreviationCapt-Gen
AppointerTheMonarch
Term lengthAt his own pleasure
Formation1 January 1901
First holderKing George V
(As Colonel-in-Chief)
King George VI
(As Captain General)

Captain General Royal Marinesis the ceremonial head of theRoyal Marines.The current Captain General is KingCharles III.[1]This position is distinct from that of theCommandant General Royal Marines,the professional head of the corps, who is currently ranked as aGeneral.

History[edit]

Appointed by themonarch of the United Kingdom,the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines was theColonel in Chiefuntil the title changed to Captain General in 1948.[2]

The uniform and insignia worn by the Captain General are those of a Royal Marines Colonel or higher depending on the appointee's current or previously held rank. As Captain General Royal Marines,Prince Harrywas entitled to wear the rank insignia of aField MarshalorMajor General.[3]Despite this, Prince Harry, at least on some occasions, wore the rank insignia of aColonel,[4][5]which is traditionally worn by someColonels-in-chiefin theBritish Army.[6]

King Charles III was announced as Captain General on 28 October 2022, on the 358th anniversary of the corps' founding byKing Charles IIin 1664.[7]

Post holders[edit]

The post has been held by the following:

No. Portrait Name
(Born–died) 		Title Term of office Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 King George V
(1865–1936)		 Colonel-in-Chief 1 January 1901(1901-01-01) 20 January 1936(1936-01-20) 35 years, 19 days [8]
2 King Edward VIII
(1894–1972)		 23 March 1936(1936-03-23) 11 December 1936(1936-12-11) 263 days [9]
3 King George VI
(1895–1952)		 11 December 1936(1936-12-11) 8 October 1948(1948-10-08) 15 years, 57 days [10]
Captain General 8 October 1948(1948-10-08) 6 February 1952(1952-02-06) [11]
4 The Duke of Edinburgh
(1921–2021)		 1 June 1953(1953-06-01) 19 December 2017(2017-12-19) 64 years, 201 days [12][13]
5 The Duke of Sussex
(born 1984)		 19 December 2017(2017-12-19) 19 February 2021[Note 1] 3 years, 62 days [19][20]
6 King Charles III
(born 1948)		 28 October 2022(2022-10-28) Incumbent 1 year, 258 days [1]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^The Queenmade an agreement with theDuke of Sussexto suspend his duties on 31 March 2020.[14][15][16]An announcement by Buckingham Palace on 19 February 2021 confirmed the relinquishment of the Duke of Sussex's honorary military appointments.[17][18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab@RoyalFamily (28 October 2022)."Today as the @RoyalMarines celebrate their 358th birthday, The King has become their new Captain General"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.His Majesty trained and served alongside the Royal Marines during his Naval career.
  2. ^"Captain General".Royal Marines Museum.Retrieved28 May2016.
  3. ^"Royal Marines and Other Ranks"(PDF).royalnavy.mod.uk.
  4. ^"While Meghan Markle Cooks at Home, It's a Freezing Valentine's Day for Prince Harry".vanityfair.
  5. ^"Prince Harry settles claim against Mail on Sunday publisher after being accused of snubbing Royal Marines".The Standard.
  6. ^"Army Dress Regulations section 1, paragraph 02.13"(PDF).whatdotheyknow.
  7. ^Coughlan, Sean (28 October 2022)."King takes on Royal Marines role once held by Harry".BBC News.Retrieved19 January2023.
  8. ^"No. 27263".The London Gazette.4 January 1901. p. 83.
  9. ^"No. 34268".The London Gazette.27 March 1936. p. 1975.
  10. ^"No. 34351".The London Gazette.18 December 1936. p. 8187.
  11. ^"The Ceremony of Beating the Retreat"(PDF).Royal Navy.Retrieved23 May2016.
  12. ^"No. 39863".The London Gazette(Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2939.
  13. ^"RM Online (archived version, defunct site)".Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2011.Retrieved4 May2013.
  14. ^"Statement from Her Majesty The Queen".British Royal Family(Press release). 18 January 2020.Retrieved2 May2020.
  15. ^"Spring 2020 Transition".The official website of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex(Press release). Archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2020.
  16. ^"Harry and Meghan's royal duties ending 31 March".BBC News.19 February 2020.Retrieved2 May2020.
  17. ^"Buckingham Palace statement on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex".British Royal Family(Press release). 19 February 2021.Retrieved19 February2021.
  18. ^"Harry and Meghan not returning as working members of Royal Family".BBC News.19 February 2021.Retrieved19 February2021.
  19. ^"No. 62148".The London Gazette.27 December 2017. p. 23814.
  20. ^"Prince Harry is appointed Captain General Royal Marines".British Royal Family(Press release). 19 December 2017.Retrieved2 May2020.


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