Captain General Royal Marines

Not to be confused with Commandant General Royal Marines (Professional head of the Royal Marines)
see also Head of the Armed Forces The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Marines.

Captain General Royal Marines
Incumbent King Charles III since 28 October 2022
Royal Marines
Abbreviation	Capt-Gen
Appointer	The Monarch
Term length	At his own pleasure
Formation	1 January 1901
First holder	King 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.^[a] The uniform and insignia currently worn by the Captain General are those of a Field Marshal.^[1]

This position is distinct from that of the Commandant General Royal Marines, the professional head of the corps, currently occupied by General Gwyn Jenkins.

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.^[2] The first Captain General Royal Marines was King George VI. Following his death he was succeeded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort to Queen Elizabeth II; Prince Philip is the longest serving Captain General to date.^[3]

Following Prince Philip's retirement from royal duties in 2017, Prince Harry was appointed as Captain General.^[4] Unlike his predecessors and successors, who had worn Field Marshal uniforms,^[5] as Captain General, Prince Harry was instead entitled to wear the rank insignia of a Major General.^[6] Despite this, Prince Harry, at least on some occasions, wore the rank insignia of a Colonel,^[7][8] which is traditionally worn by some colonels-in-chief in the British Army.^[9]

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.^[10] Charles III separately holds the position of Head of the Armed Forces, which like some of his predecessors also makes him the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Marines.^[11]

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 V[b] (1865–1936)	Colonel-in-Chief	1 January 1901 (1901-01-01)	20 January 1936 (1936-01-20)	35 years, 19 days	[12]
2		King Edward VIII[a] (1894–1972)		23 March 1936 (1936-03-23)	11 December 1936 (1936-12-11)	263 days	[13]
3		King George VI[a] (1895–1952)		11 December 1936 (1936-12-11)	8 October 1948 (1948-10-08)	15 years, 57 days	[14]
			Captain General	8 October 1948 (1948-10-08)	6 February 1952 (1952-02-06)		[15]
4		Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021)		1 June 1953 (1953-06-01)	19 December 2017 (2017-12-19)	64 years, 201 days	[16][17]
5		Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (born 1984)		19 December 2017 (2017-12-19)	19 February 2021[Note 1]	3 years, 62 days	[23][24]
6		King Charles III[a] (born 1948)		28 October 2022 (2022-10-28)	Incumbent	2 years, 168 days

See also

• British and U.S. military ranks compared
• British Army Other Ranks rank insignia
• British Army officer rank insignia
• Captain General
• Lord High Admiral

Notes

1. Concurrently served as Head of the Armed Forces also making them Commander in Chief of the Royal Marines.
2. From 1910 onwards concurrently served as Head of the Armed Forces also making them Commander in Chief of the Royal Marines.

Notes

1. The Queen made an agreement with the Duke of Sussex to suspend his duties on 31 March 2020.^[18][19][20] An announcement by Buckingham Palace on 19 February 2021 confirmed the relinquishment of the Duke of Sussex's honorary military appointments.^[21][22]

References

1. @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. "Captain General". Royal Marines Museum. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
3. "HRH The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh". The Royal Marines Charity.
4. "Prince Harry: His military career and connections". www.forcesnews.com. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
5. "The Box | HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh". The Box Plymouth. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
6. "Royal Marines and Other Ranks" (PDF). royalnavy.mod.uk.
7. "While Meghan Markle Cooks at Home, It's a Freezing Valentine's Day for Prince Harry". vanityfair.com.
8. "Prince Harry settles claim against Mail on Sunday publisher after being accused of snubbing Royal Marines". The Standard.
9. "Army Dress Regulations section 1, paragraph 02.13" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.
10. Coughlan, Sean (28 October 2022). "King takes on Royal Marines role once held by Harry". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
11. "King Charles III: A look at the Commander-in-Chief's time in the forces". www.forcesnews.com. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
12. "No. 27263". The London Gazette. 4 January 1901. p. 83.
13. "No. 34268". The London Gazette. 27 March 1936. p. 1975.
14. "No. 34351". The London Gazette. 18 December 1936. p. 8187.
15. "The Ceremony of Beating the Retreat" (PDF). Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
16. "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2939.
17. "RM Online (archived version, defunct site)". Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
18. "Statement from Her Majesty The Queen". British Royal Family (Press release). 18 January 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
19. "Spring 2020 Transition". The official website of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Press release). Archived from the original on 30 March 2020.
20. "Harry and Meghan's royal duties ending 31 March". BBC News. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
21. "Buckingham Palace statement on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex". British Royal Family (Press release). 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
22. "Harry and Meghan not returning as working members of Royal Family". BBC News. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
23. "No. 62148". The London Gazette. 27 December 2017. p. 23814.
24. "Prince Harry is appointed Captain General Royal Marines". British Royal Family (Press release). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2020.