Air commodore-in-chief


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 Monarchy of [the United Kingdom|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., 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

, held the following appointments:
; United Kingdom1932 –1936 : Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Auxiliary Air Force

King George VI

held the following appointments:
; United Kingdom1936 – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Auxiliary Air Force 1941 – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps1947 – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal [Air Force Regiment]1950 – 1952: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Observer Corps

Queen Elizabeth II

held the following appointments:
; Australia1954 – 2022 : Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Australian Citizen Air Force
; Canada1953 – 1968: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal [Canadian Air Force Auxiliary]
; New Zealand1953 – 2022: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Territorial Air Force of New Zealand
; United Kingdom1953 – 2022: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force1953 – 2022: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Regiment1953 – 1996: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Observer Corps

Prince Philip

, held the following appointments:
; / Canada
; United Kingdom1953 – 2015: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps

King Charles III

, held the following appointments:
; New Zealand1977 –2015: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal [New Zealand Air Force]
; United Kingdom2022 –present: Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force

Royal Malaysian Air Force

As a member of the Commonwealth, Malaysia adopted British military customs and traditions. The Royal [Malaysian Air Force] was formally established in 1958; however, its lineage can be traced to earlier joint air force units of the Commonwealth in British Malaya. The most notable of these was the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force, formed in 1934, which consisted of personnel drawn from both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force.
There is no definitive record identifying the Air Commodore-in-Chief of pre-independence Malaya, although it is generally assumed that the British monarch held the honorary position. The appointment was reintroduced in 1966, when the Malay monarch was installed as Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The holders of this honorary appointment are as follows: