The British Monarchy Miscellany
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awarding honours and regimental colours. In the British Army these royal honorary positions usually take the form of Colonel-in-Chief or Royal Colonel. In the Royal Navy the position is usually that of Commodore-in-Chief, while in the Royal Air Force it is normally Honorary Air Commodore. Listed on the following pages is a selection of current honorary appointments.
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A Selection of current Royal Honorary Positions
(as of June 2017)
*This is not a complete list
Note: Prince Philip’s Royal Honorary Positions
pre-date his official retirement in August 2017.
The Queen
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of the Life Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Blues and Royals
Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Coldstream Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Scots Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Irish Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Welsh Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland Colonel-in-Chief of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Welsh
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Royal Engineers Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Tank Regiment
Colonel-in-Chief of the Malawi Rifles
Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Royal Military Police 556
Colonel-in-Chief of the Adjutant General's Corps Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen’s Royal Lancers Captain-General of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Captain-General of the Honourable Artillery Company Captain-General of Combined Cadet Force
Honorary Colonel of the Queen’s Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry
Royal Air Force
Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Regiment Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Auxiliary Force Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Observer Corps Royal Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Marham
Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron
The Duke of Edinburgh
Army
Field Marshal of the British Army
Colonel-in-Chief of The Queen’s Royal Hussars Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles
Colonel-in-Chief, Army Cadet Force
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Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Colonel-in-Chief of the Intelligence Corps
Royal Colonel of the Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland
Honorary Colonel of the Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry
Colonel of the Grenadier Guards
Royal Navy
Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom
Captain-General of the Corps of Royal Marines Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Air Commodore of the University Air Squadron The Prince of Wales
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Dragoon Guards Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Gurkha Rifles
Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards Colonel in Chief of the Mercian Regiment
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Royal Colonel of the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland
Royal Colonel of the 51st Highland, 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland
Royal Honorary Colonel of the Queen’s Own Yeomanry Colonel of the Welsh Guards
Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of Plymouth, Royal Naval Command Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Valley The Duchess of Cornwall
Army
Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion, The Rifles Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of the Naval Medical Services Commodore-in-Chief, Naval Chaplaincy Service Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Halton
Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Leeming
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The Duke of Cambridge
Army
Colonel of the Irish Guards
Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Clyde
Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy Submarine Service
Commodore-in-Chief of Scotland
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commandant, RAF Coningsby
The Duchess of Cambridge
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commandant of the Air Training Corps Prince Harry
Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving 560
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commandant, RAF Honington
The Princess Royal
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of the King’s Royal Hussars Colonel-in-Chief of Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29/45 Foot)
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Corps of Signals Colonel-in-Chief the Royal Army Veterinary Corps Royal Colonel of the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland
Royal Colonel of the 52nd Lowland Regiment, 6th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland
Colonel of the Blues and Royals
Commandant-in-Chief of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps)
Royal Navy
Admiral and Chief Commandant for Women in the Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Portsmouth
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Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Lyneham
Honorary Air Commodore of the University of LondonAir Squadron
The Duke of York
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s)
Colonel-in-Chief of the Small Arms School Corps Colonel-in-Chief of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th 19th and 33rd / 76th Foot)
Royal Colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland
Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm
Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Lossiemouth 562
The Earl of Wessex
Army
Royal Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles Royal Honorary Colonel of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry Royal Honorary Colonel of the London Regiment Royal Navy
Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Waddington The Countess of Wessex
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps
Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of Army Music
Royal Colonel of the 5th Battalion of the Rifles Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Wittering 563
The Duke of Kent
Army
Colonel of the Scots Guards
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Leuchars
The Duchess of Kent
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of The Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of Adjutant Generals Corps Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of Royal Dragoon Guards 564
The Duke of Gloucester
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Anglian Regiment Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Army Medical Corps Royal Colonel of the 6th (V) Battalion, The Rifles Royal Honorary Colonel of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Commodore, of RAF Odiham
Honorary Air Commodore of 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Honorary Air Ma
rshal, Royal Air Force
The Duchess of Gloucester
Army
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Army Dental Corps Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Adjutant Generals Corps Royal Colonel of the 7th (V) Battalion, The Rifles 565
Princess Alexandra of Kent
Army
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of The Queen’s Royal Lancers Royal Colonel of the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles Royal Honorary Colonel of The Royal Yeomanry Royal Air Force
Patron and Air Chief Commandant of Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service
Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Cottesmore
Prince Michael of Kent
Army
Royal Honorary Colonel of the Honourable Artillery Company
Royal Navy
Honorary Vice Admiral of the Royal Naval Reserve Commodore-in-Chief of the Maritime Reserves
Royal Air Force
Honorary Air Marshal, RAF Benson
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Arts and
Treasures
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The Royal Collection
The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British monarchy. It comprises all the art objects, treasures and decorative items that have been gathered by British monarchs over the last 500 years. One of the largest and most important art collections in the world, it contains over one million items and is unique for still remaining in the possession of its founding royal family, instead of being dispersed or re-settled in state museums like other European royal collections from the past.
Composition
The Collection contains objects collected mainly from the 1660s onwards. Earlier works that were collected and commissioned by medieval and Tudor monarchs were
mostly lost during the Republican Commonwealth in the 1650s after the monarchy was abolished. Medieval and Tudor works that are part of the Royal Collection today were largely re-acquired after 1660 or bought anew by later monarchs. Among the great royal patrons to add to the Collection in the last 350 were Charles II, George III, 568
George IV, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and Queen Mary, consort of King George V. Queen Mary was also instrumental in cataloguing the Collection in detail and re-discovering previously lost items.
Because it was formed primarily through the interests of individual monarchs and Royal Family members, the
Royal Collection is not thematic in scope like a museum, but rather reflects the individual tastes of the people who assembled it. The Collection comprises:
Visual Art: Over 5,000 paintings (with particular strength in Italian, Dutch and British paintings),
10,000 watercolours, and over 3,000 miniatures.
Drawings and Prints: 20,000 Old Masters drawings and over 500,000 prints, including works by
Michelangelo, Leonardo, Holbein and Durer.
Sculpture: 1,400 items including pieces in marble, bronze and terracotta. Over half of the collection—
900 pieces—are British, the rest includes works from antiquity, European sculptors and modern works.
Ceramics: A large collection of European ceramics including the best collection of French 18th century porcelain in the world, Dutch Delft ware, and an
encyclopaedic collection of British ceramics.
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Silver and gold plate: Thousands of items collected and commissioned from the 1660s to the early 20th
century, including church and coronation plate,
dinner services, representational table pieces and
decorative items.
Furniture: One of the largest collections of antique furniture in the world, of which many pieces are still in their original settings. It includes the most
important collection of Louis XVI French furniture in the world.
Tapestries and textiles: Over 100 Flemish, French and British tapestries, including priceless Tudor
masterpieces. The textile holdings also comprise bed furnishings, historic costumes, coronation dress, and a dedicated lace collection.
Arms and Armour: Tudor and Stuart armour
including personal royal pieces, firearms and swords from the 17th century onwards, and the largest
collection of Oriental arms and armour in Western
Europe.
Oriental Art: A large collection of items from India, China and Japan which includes porcelain, jades,
ivories, furniture and gold items.
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Photographs: Over 450,000 items including a priceless collection of early 19th century
photographs.
Additionally, the Collection includes books, illuminated manuscripts, maps, clocks, insignia, coins, glass, jewellery and objects d’art.
Where to see the Royal Collection
What makes the Royal Collection unique is that many of its works can still be seen in the original royal palaces for which they were commissioned. The Collection is spread between all the royal residences across the United
Kingdom. Those include the occupied residences—
Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St James’s Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House, Balmoral Castle, Holyrood Palace and Hillsborough
Castle—as well as many unoccupied historic residences including the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kew Palace, Osborne House, and the Brighton Pavilion.
All these residences, except for St James’s Palace, are open to the public daily or at some point during the year.
Many objects are routinely moved between royal
residences, although items that are particularly
associated with a certain residence are usually left in place permanently.
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Works can also be seen on exhibitions held at the
Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s
Gallery at Holyrood Palace, and the Drawings Gallery at Windsor Castle. Outside the royal residences and
galleries, over 3,000 objects from the Collection have been permanently loaned to museums around Britain
including the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London; the Royal
Armouries in Leeds; the National Museum of Wales; and the National Galleries of Scotland. People interested in exploring the Royal Collection do not necessarily need to visit sites in person as the Royal Collection website features photographs and descriptions of over 250,000 of its best items online.
Ownership & Management
The Collection is the property of the monarch, but it is not owned by him or her as a private individual. Rather, it is held in trust for the nation, to be handed down intact to the next monarch. Although monarchs and other
members of the Royal Family can add to the Royal
Collection, items from it cannot be sold or disposed away as they are considered national heritage. Not all works of art or decorative items that are bought by monarchs automatically enter the Royal Collection—some of them can remain the private property of the individual for their own lifetime—however most privately bought property 572
enters the Collection eventually, and currently everything that was acquired before 1936 is officially considered part of the Collection.
The Collection is officially constituted as a department of the Royal Household, however it does not receive public funds or subsidies. It is administered through the Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity which has been chaired by Prince Charles since 1993. The Trust is
responsible for the conservation, restoration and
cleaning of Collection items; for displaying the Collection to the public; and for acquiring new works. Their work is funded by public admission fees to the royal palaces—
like Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace—entrance
fees to the Royal Collection galleries; and sales from the Royal Collection shops in London, Windsor, Edinburgh and online.
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Artists Represented
in the Royal Co
llection
Listed below is a selection of famous artists represented in the Royal Collection, either through paintings,
sculptures or decorative arts. Because the Royal
Collection reflects the tastes of the monarchs who
assembled it, it is not complete in artistic scope and has both strengths and weaknesses. This is shown for
example in the strong collection of 17th century Dutch paintings assembled by George IV, and in the vast Italian Renaissance art acquired by Charles I, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Conversely, the Collection contains little Spanish art or 19th century French impressionist works.