Captain General Royal Marines is the ceremonial head of the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. The current Captain General is King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. The uniform and insignia currently worn by the Captain General are those of a Field Marshal. This position is distinct from that of the

Commandant General Royal Marines Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General (United Kingdom), General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of Brigadier ( ...

, the professional head of the corps, currently occupied by General

Gwyn Jenkins General (United Kingdom), General Sir Gwyn Jenkins is a senior Royal Marines officer serving as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff since 15 May 2025. He served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Vice-Chief of the ...

History

Appointed by the

monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

, the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines was the Colonel in Chief until the title changed to Captain General in 1948. The first Captain General Royal Marines was King George VI. Following his death he was succeeded by

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, consort to Queen Elizabeth II; Prince Philip is the longest serving Captain General to date. Following Prince Philip's retirement from royal duties in 2017, Prince Harry was appointed as Captain General. Unlike his predecessors and successors, who had worn Field Marshal uniforms, as Captain General, Prince Harry was instead entitled to wear the rank insignia of a Major General. Despite this, Prince Harry, at least on some occasions, wore the rank insignia of a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, which is traditionally worn by some colonels-in-chief in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. 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. 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.

History

Post holders

See also

Notes

Notes

References