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The
office of Colonel of Regiment was originally and normally reserved for
an aristrocrat who owned the regiment and equipped it. These regiments
were almost always single-battalion units, and the Colonel had a tactical
role as its head, with the Lieutenant-Colonel and Major commanding two
of the three wings of the regiment. With the eclipse of pikemen in the
battalion, the three wings were united under the command of the Lieutenant-Colonel,
while the Colonel was relegated to a more ceremonial role, and was almost
always of General rank. In 1755 the 60th
Regiment (late The King's Royal Rifle Corps) was raised with multiple
battalions, and this called for a "Colonel-in-Chief" as well
as the ceremonial Colonels of the battalions. Having set this precedent,
the multiple-battalion Rifle Brigade
also had a Colonel-in-Chief from its founding in 1800. The 1881 Cardwell
scheme of making all infantry multi-battalion regiments suggested the
possibility of widespread appointments of Colonel-in-Chief. These were
almost exclusively reserved for members of royal family, who had already
been occasionally appointed as Colonels of regular regiments, and Honorary
Colonels of Militia and Volunteers. This was a firmer institutionalisation
of an ancient tradition of bestowing royal favours on regiments. After
1869 no more non-royals were appointed to the office of Colonel-in-Chief
in The King's Royal Rifle Corps
and The Rifle Brigade. For
some unexplained reason, The
Royal Irish Regiment was the notable exception in having non-royal
Colonels-in-Chief (between 1898 and 1922). In 1974 the 8th Duke of Wellington
was appointed as the only non-royal Colonel-in-Chief -- of The
Duke of Wellington's Regiment. No previous Dukes of Wellington had
held that appointment, although the regiment was named for the first duke
in shortly after his death in 1853 (the only British regiment named for
a commoner since 1782).
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