Military service by British royalty facts for kids

Many members of the British royal family have served in the British armed forces, or they hold special honorary (meaning "in name only") positions. This article explains the military service of these royal family members.

Some royals hold military titles and jobs even if they haven't served in the military themselves. For example, Anne, Princess Royal has many important roles in the armed forces, but she didn't serve as a soldier.

Understanding Military Terms

To help you understand this article, here are some common abbreviations:

Royals Who Served in the Military

This section lists members of the Royal Family who actively served in the armed forces. The "rank whilst active" shows the highest rank they held during their service. The "current rank worn" shows any higher ranks they received later, often as honorary titles. Royals often get promotions even after they leave active service.

Living Members of the Royal Family

Military Service of Living Royals

Name of Royal	Service Branch	Highest Active Rank	Years of Service	Current Honorary Rank	Wartime Service	Key Units	Training & Skills	Medals	Special Military Roles
William, Prince of Wales Prince William as Colonel of the Irish Guards (2011)	RN, British Army, RAF	Lieutenant RN,  Captain,  Squadron Leader	2005–2013	Lieutenant Commander,  Major,  Squadron Leader	None	Blues and Royals, No. 22 Squadron (RAF Search and Rescue)	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, RAF Cranwell RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)		Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Clyde; Colonel of the Irish Guards
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry as a Captain in the Household Cavalry Regiment (2013)	British Army	Captain	2005–2015	Major,  Captain General Royal Marines,  Squadron Leader	Afghanistan	Blues and Royals, Army Air Corps	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Forward Air Controller Army Air Corps Pilot brevet RAF Regiment Shoulder Flash		(Titles returned to HM King) Captain General Royal Marines
King Charles III King Charles III as Field Marshal of the New Zealand Army (2015)	RN, British Army, RAF	Commander,  Flight Lieutenant	1971–1976	Admiral of the Fleet,  Field Marshal,  Marshal of the Royal Air Force	None	845 Naval Air Squadron	Britannia Royal Naval College, Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Royal Air Force College, Cranwell Parachutist Badge RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)		Field Marshal, Colonel-in-Chief, Colonel, Honorary Air Commodore
Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Andrew as Colonel-in-Chief of the Yorkshire Regiment	RN, RAF	Commander (Ret'd)	1980–2001	Vice Admiral,  Air Commodore	Falklands War	815 Naval Air Squadron	Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Commando Training Centre Royal Marines Parachutist Badge		(Titles returned to HM King) Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary	RM	Acting Lieutenant (withdrew from training)	1986–1987	See appointments	None	N/A	Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (did not finish)	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	Royal Honorary Colonel of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent as Honorary Vice-Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve	British Army	Major (Ret'd)	1963–1981	Vice-Admiral,  Colonel,  Air Marshal	None	11th Hussars	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	Honorary Vice Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve, Colonel-in-Chief of The Essex and Kent Scottish
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward as Colonel of the Scots Guards (2013)	British Army	Lieutenant-Colonel	1955–1976 (Ret'd)	Field Marshal and  Air Chief Marshal	None	Royal Scots Greys	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)	King George VI Coronation Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	Colonel of the Scots Guards, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster	British Army	Major	1998–2008	Major (Ret'd)	Kosovo War, Iraq War	King's Royal Hussars	Royal Military College Sandhurst	General Service Medal, NATO Medal, Iraq Medal, Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal	None

Deceased Members of the Royal Family

Military Service of Deceased Royals

Name of Royal	Service Branch	Highest Active Rank	Years of Service	Current Honorary Rank	Wartime Service	Key Units	Training & Skills	Medals	Special Military Roles
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom† Queen Elizabeth II in 2019	Auxiliary Territorial Service, British Army	Subaltern (like an Army Lieutenant)	1945–1949		World War II	None	None		Ceremonial Colonel-in-Chief of Commonwealth armies
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh† Prince Philip as Admiral of the Fleet	RN, British Army, RAF	Commander	1940–1952	Admiral of the Fleet,  Field Marshal,  Marshal of the Royal Air Force	World War II – including Battle of Crete	British Pacific Fleet	Royal Naval College, Greenwich RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)		Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, Field Marshal
George VI of the United Kingdom† King George VI as Admiral of the Fleet during WWII	RN, RAF	Lieutenant (RN)	1909–1919	(as monarch)  Admiral of the Fleet	World War I	HMS Collingwood	Britannia Royal Naval College RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)	1914 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal	Colonel-in-Chief – Commonwealth armies
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom† Edward VIII as a Second Lieutenant during WWI	British Army, RAF	Lieutenant	1914–1918	N/A	World War I	Grenadier Guards	Osborne Naval College RAF pilot's flying badge (wings)	Military Cross	Colonel-in-Chief – Commonwealth armies
George V of the United Kingdom† King George V as Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1935)	RN	Commander	1877–1891	N/A	None	HMS Bacchante	None	None	Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Navy
William IV of the United Kingdom† King William IV	RN	Rear-Admiral	1780–1789	N/A	American War of Independence	HMS Andromeda	None	None	General of the British Army
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester† Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester as Governor General of Australia (c. 1945)	British Army	Major	1919-1937 (active) and 1940-1945 (war)	Honorary Captain of the RNVR	World War II, Battle of France	King's Royal Rifle Corps	Royal Military College Sandhurst	None	Colonel in Chief-Gloucestershire Regiment
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven† Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven	RN	Admiral of the Fleet	1868–1914		Anglo-Egyptian War, First World War	Royal Alfred|1864|6	None	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath	First Sea Lord
George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven† George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven	RN	Captain	1904–1937		First World War	Royal Naval College, Dartmouth	None	Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma† Lord Mountbatten as Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Navy (1976)	RN	Admiral of the Fleet	1913–1965		First World War, Second World War	Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia	Royal Naval College, Dartmouth	Knight of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath	Chief of the Defence Staff

Important Notes:

• The medals shown are usually those with a ribbon worn on a uniform.
• The "Highest Active Rank" is the highest rank a royal reached while actively serving. Ranks given after they left active service are in the "Current Honorary Rank" column.
• Royals can get military ranks in two main ways:
  • They train as officers at places like Britannia Royal Naval College (Navy), Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Army), or Royal Air Force College Cranwell (Air Force).
  • They are given an honorary rank, which is a special title, either in addition to their active rank or instead of it if they are not serving officers.
• When royals leave active service, they are often promoted to the rank they would have reached if they had stayed in the military.

Royals with Honorary Military Roles (No Active Service)

Some royals hold special "Honorary Ranks" within the British Armed Forces, even if they haven't served themselves. These roles are mostly ceremonial. There are many such roles in other Commonwealth countries too.

These honorary roles can include:

• Royal Colonel: A special appointment made by the King or Queen for a regiment.
• Honorary Air Commodore-in-Chief and Honorary Air Commodores for the Royal Air Force.
• Honorary Commodore-in-Chief for the Royal Navy.

Honorary Military Roles of Royals

Photograph	Name of Royal	Highest Honorary Rank	Naval Roles	Army Roles	Air Force Roles	Uniform Notes
Princess Anne in Household Cavalry uniform	Anne, Princess Royal	Admiral (2012), General, Air Chief Marshal	Chief Commandant for Women in the Royal Navy, Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Portsmouth	Colonel-in-Chief of many regiments, including the Royal Corps of Signals and RLC.	Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Brize Norton.	Wears uniforms for all three services depending on the event.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh	Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh	None in own right (wears rank when acting in role)	None	Colonel-in-Chief of the QARANC, Royal Colonel of 5th Battalion, The Rifles.	Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Wittering.

See also

• British royal family
• The Canadian Crown and the Canadian Armed Forces
• British Armed Forces
• United Kingdom