Prince William and Princess Kate were recently awarded new military titles by King Charles III. Kate was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards, Royal Honorary Air Commodore for RAF Coningsby, and Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm. William was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment, Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, and Royal Honorary Air Commodore for RAF Valley. The couple expressed their gratitude for the appointments in a post on their official Instagram account.
Prince William and Princess Kate expressed their honor and excitement in serving their new military affiliations across the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force on their official social media accounts. Royal fans were quick to congratulate the couple, with one fan writing, “Amazing congratulations both the prince and princess of Wales.”
Royal fans were excited about the new military appointments for Prince William and Princess Kate. One fan wrote, “Absolutely awesome news and video!! So well deserved!!! I’m sure you two will do a wonderful job as always…big congratulations.” Another fan said, “I’m sure it’s an honour for the squadrons & regiments as well!”
Buckingham Palace announced that other royals, including King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Duchess Sophie, also received new military honors.
Eleven of the new military appointments were previously held by Queen Elizabeth II, one by Prince Philip, six by King Charles, one by Prince William, two by Prince Andrew, and one position was never appointed to a member of the royal family before.
The Palace said that the new roles “will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majesty’s reign.”
The announcement of the new military appointments follows Queen Camilla’s appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers in June. This was a particularly poignant moment for Camilla, as her father, the late Major Bruce Shand, served with the 12th Lancers during World War II.
The announcements come just weeks before the anniversary of the late Queen Elizabeth’s passing on 8 September. The King and Queen are expected to mark this day in private, following the example of the late Queen Elizabeth, who chose to mark the anniversary of her father’s death out of public view when she ascended to the throne in 1952.
