Britain’s Prince Charles promoted to top military rank

(AP Photo)

LONDON—Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was promoted to top rank in all three British military services on Saturday.

Queen Elizabeth II appointed her eldest son to the ranks of Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet and Marshal of the Royal Air Force, equivalent to 5-star rank in the US.

Charles, 63, the Prince of Wales, served in the Royal Navy and the RAF throughout the 1970s.

Only two other members of the royal family hold honorary five-star rank: the queen’s husband Prince Philip — in all three services — and her cousin Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, who is a field marshal.

Charles’s sons are both military helicopter pilots — Prince William in a search and rescue role with the RAF and Prince Harry on attack choppers with the Army Air Corps.

Meanwhile General Charles Guthrie, who was the head of the British military during the Kosovo War, was made an honorary field marshal.