RE Geoff Howe’s letter concerning the prefix “Royal” when referring to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, but not to the Army (HAS, Sept 23).
It occurs to me that one answer may lie in the fact that while the Royal Navy is divided into its various “fleets”, and the Royal Air Force has its “commands”, the Army is made up of individual regiments each with its own history.
Many of these regiments have the prefix “Royal” – The Royal Regiments of Fusiliers and the Royal Horse Artillery to name but two. Thus to speak of the Royal Army would be something of a misnomer.
As one who has served both with the RAF and the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department (RAChD) I offer this as one answer to your correspondent.
The Reverend David Kinch, Crook, Co Durham.
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