Captain General Royal Marines
British Royal Marines OF-10.svg
Charles Prince of Wales.jpg
Incumbent
King Charles III
since 28 October 2022
 Corps of Royal Marines
AbbreviationCapt-Gen
AppointerThe Monarch
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formation1 January 1901
First holderKing George V
(As Colonel-in-Chief)
King George VI
(As Captain General)

Captain General Royal Marines is the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines. The current Captain General is King Charles III.[1] This position is distinct from that of the Commandant General Royal Marines, the professional head of the corps, who is currently ranked as a Lieutenant General.[2]

History

Appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom, the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines was the Colonel in Chief until the title changed to Captain General in 1948.[3] 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 Harry was entitled to wear the rank insignia of a Field Marshal[4] or Major General.[5] Despite this, Prince Harry, at least on some occasions, wore the rank insignia of a Colonel,[6][7] which is traditionally worn by some Colonels-in-chief in the British Army.[8]

King Charles III was announced as Captain General on 28 October 2022, on the 358th anniversary of the corps' founding by King Charles II in 1664.[9]

Post holders

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 1923 LCCN2014715558 (cropped).jpg
King George V
(1865–1936)		 Colonel-in-Chief 1 January 1901 (1901-01-01) 20 January 1936 (1936-01-20) 35 years, 19 days [10]
2
HRH The Prince of Wales No 4 (HS85-10-36416).jpg
King Edward VIII
(1894–1972)		 23 March 1936 (1936-03-23) 11 December 1936 (1936-12-11) 263 days [11]
3
King George VI LOC matpc.14736 (cleaned).jpg
King George VI
(1895–1952)		 11 December 1936 (1936-12-11) 8 October 1948 (1948-10-08) 15 years, 57 days [12]
Captain General 8 October 1948 (1948-10-08) 6 February 1952 (1952-02-06) [13]
4
Prince Phillip of Edinburgh.jpg
The Duke of Edinburgh
(1921–2021)		 1 June 1953 (1953-06-01) 19 December 2017 (2017-12-19) 64 years, 201 days [14][15]
5
Prince Harry Trooping the Colour cropped.JPG
The Duke of Sussex
(born 1984)		 19 December 2017 (2017-12-19) 19 February 2021[Note 1] 3 years, 62 days [21][22]
6
Charles Prince of Wales.jpg
King Charles III
(born 1948)		 28 October 2022 (2022-10-28) Active 32 days [1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Queen made an agreement with the Duke of Sussex to suspend his duties on 31 March 2020.[16][17][18] An announcement by Buckingham Palace on 19 February 2021 confirmed the relinquishment of the Duke of Sussex's honorary military appointments.[19][20]

References

  1. ^ a b @RoyalFamily (28 October 2022). "Today as the @RoyalMarines celebrate their 358th birthday, The King has become their new Captain General" (Tweet) – via Twitter. His Majesty trained and served alongside the Royal Marines during his Naval career.
  2. ^ "Major General Matthew Holmes, former head of Royal Marines, found dead at home aged 54". 4 October 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Captain General". Royal Marines Museum. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Prince Harry takes over from Prince Philip as Captain General of the Royal Marines". royalcentral.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Royal Marines and Other Ranks" (PDF). royalcentral.co.uk.
  6. ^ "While Meghan Markle Cooks at Home, It's a Freezing Valentine's Day for Prince Harry". vanityfair.com.
  7. ^ "Prince Harry settles claim against Mail on Sunday publisher after being accused of snubbing Royal Marines". The Standard.
  8. ^ "Army Dress Regulations section 1, paragraph 02.13" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.
  9. ^ Coughlan, Sean. "King takes on Royal Marines role once held by Harry". 28 October 2022. Retrieved on 2022-11-03.
  10. ^ "No. 27263". The London Gazette. 4 January 1901. p. 83.
  11. ^ "No. 34268". The London Gazette. 27 March 1936. p. 1975.
  12. ^ "No. 34351". The London Gazette. 18 December 1936. p. 8187.
  13. ^ "The Ceremony of Beating the Retreat" (PDF). Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  14. ^ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2939.
  15. ^ "RM Online (archived version, defunct site)". Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  16. ^ "Statement from Her Majesty The Queen". British Royal Family (Press release). 18 January 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Spring 2020 Transition". The official website of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Press release). Archived from the original on 30 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Harry and Meghan's royal duties ending 31 March". BBC News. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Buckingham Palace statement on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex". British Royal Family (Press release). 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Harry and Meghan not returning as working members of Royal Family". BBC News. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  21. ^ "No. 62148". The London Gazette. 27 December 2017. p. 23814.
  22. ^ "Prince Harry is appointed Captain General Royal Marines". British Royal Family (Press release). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2020.


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