Editing Colonel-in-chief (section)

== History ==
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Historically a ''colonel-in-chief'' was the ceremonial head of a [[regiment]], usually a member of a European country's royal family.  The practice extends at least back to 1740 in [[Prussia]] when [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II]] held that position ({{langx|de|Regimentschef}}) in the newly created [[Gardes du Corps (Prussia)|Garde du Corps]], an elite heavy cavalry regiment.<ref name= Hohenzollern>{{cite web |url=http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=24061 |title=Colonel-in-Chiefs belonging to the Hohenzollern Family}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2015}}

By the late 19th century the designation could be given to the children of royalty; there are pictures of the daughters of [[Russian Czar]] [[Nicholas II]] in the uniforms of their regiments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/fotografie-di-cronaca/grand-duchess-maria-nikolaevna-of-russia-in-fotografie-di-cronaca/161055085 |title=Granduchessa Maria Nikolaevna di Russia |website=Getty Images}}</ref> The [[German Kaiser]] [[Wilhelm II]] carried the title to an extreme, holding it in dozens of German and (by diplomatic courtesy) Austro-Hungarian (called ''[[Inhaber]]''), British, Russian, and Portuguese regiments. His mother, wife, son, and daughters were also full or deputy colonels-in-chief of various units. <ref name= Hohenzollern/>