Following the transfer of the role of Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles from The Duke of Edinburgh to The Duchess of Cornwall, a new official portrait of Her Royal Highness has been released. (See above)
The Duchess received General Sir Patrick Sanders, Colonel Commandant of The Rifles, at Clarence House on 12th October, during which he formally presented The Duchess with a brooch commissioned by The Rifles. This is featured in the official portrait.
About the brooch
Central to the heritage of the Regiment is the silver Bugle Horn used as the cap badge of The Rifles. The bugle horn, easily carried, and sonorous and penetrating in sound, was the ideal replacement for the drum and was therefore adopted by Light Infantry and later Rifle Regiments from the early 1800s to pass orders across the battlefield. Today, every Rifleman wears a silver bugle as their cap badge.
Colonel-in-Chief personal message to all Riflemen
The Rifles are extremely thankful to have Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall as their new Colonel-in-Chief who has already visited some of the battalions. She hopes to visit the remainder once the COVID-19 restrictions ease but in the meantime this video is her personal message to the Regimental Family.
‘Riflemen, with the rest of our nation, I am profoundly in your debt for all that you do, especially during these troubled times. Continue to uphold those qualities of discipline, courage and sense of humour that my father spoke of and be proud of all that you represent. Wherever you may be viewing this message, on operations in Afghanistan, deployed to Estonia, on exercise in the U.K. or indeed, enjoying some much-deserved leave, thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
