Prince Charles promoted to top British military rank

Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was promoted by Queen Elizabeth II to the highest ranks in all three British military services on Saturday. The queen appointed her eldest son to the honorary ranks of field marshal, admiral of the fleet and marshal of the Royal Air Force, equivalent to five star rank in the US forces. 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 similarly senior honorary 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 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 chief of the defence staff between 1997 and 2001, has also been awarded the honorary rank of field marshal.