Air commodore-in-chief

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Air Commodore-in-Chief is a senior honorary air force appointment which originated in the Royal Air Force and now exists in the air forces of various Commonwealth realms. Appointees are made Air Commodore-in-Chief of a large air force organisation or formation. Initially only the British monarch held air commodore-in-chief appointments. However, since the second half of the 20th century, other members of the royal family have been appointed to such positions in the United Kingdom and the other realms such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. As of 2020, these appointments have been given to just six senior members of the royal family, of whom four were reigning or future monarchs of the Commonwealth realms.

Air commodore-in-chief appointments do not confer a rank, be it air commodore or otherwise. Air commodore-in-chief appointments are more senior than honorary air commodore appointments. The equivalent naval title of Commodore-in-Chief was introduced in 2006.

Air commodores-in-chief[]

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales[]

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), held the following appointments:

United Kingdom United Kingdom
  • United Kingdom 1932 –1936 : Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Auxiliary Air Force[1]

King George VI[]

Further information: List of titles and honours of King George VI

King George VI held the following appointments:

United Kingdom United Kingdom
  • United Kingdom 1936  – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Auxiliary Air Force (The Royal Auxiliary Air Force from 1947)[2][3]
  • Ensign of the Air Training Corps.svg 1941  – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps[3][4]
  • United Kingdom 1947  – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Regiment[5]
  • Ensign of the Royal Observer Corps (1952-1995).png 1950  – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Observer Corps[6]

Queen Elizabeth II[]

Further information: List of titles and honours of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II held or holds the following appointments:

Australia Australia
  • Australia 1954  – : Air Commodore-in-Chief of the [7]
Canada Canada
  • Canada 1953  – 1968: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the [8]
New Zealand New Zealand
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Prince Philip[]

Further information: List of titles and honours of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, held the following appointments:

Canada / Canada Canada
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Prince Charles[]

Further information: List of titles and honours of Charles, Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, holds the following appointments:

Canada Canada
  • Canada 1977 –: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the (since 2011 the )
New Zealand New Zealand

The Duchess of Cambridge[]

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, holds the following appointments:

United Kingdom United Kingdom

References[]

  1. ^ "No. 33831". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1932. p. 3582.
  2. ^ The Air Force List, September 1943
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1950/1950%20-%201255.html
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "No. 38077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 September 1947. p. 4469.
  6. ^ "No. 40140". The London Gazette. 11 April 1950. p. 2051.
  7. ^ "No. 40140". The London Gazette. 6 April 1954. p. 2051.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "No. 39864". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2995.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "No. 39863". The London Gazette. 26 May 1953. p. 2940.
  10. ^ "No. 47237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1977. p. 7127.
  11. ^ "The Duke of Edinburgh Hands Air Cadet Patronage to The Duchess of Cambridge, 16 December 2015". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  12. ^ Tominey, Camilla (14 February 2016). "Truth behind Prince George's love of aviation". Daily Express. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
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