A royal gua rd is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection o f a ro yal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. A regimental history of the royal dragoon guards, who have fought in all of britains. The queens guard and queens life guard are the names given to contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the united kingdom. The men you see in front of buckingham palace and other locations in london as well as windsor are the queens guard foot guards. Memories will be shown relating to each reigning prince of the time, and also snippets of moments in history, such as when the hymn of the civil guard became the national hymn in 1822 and historical uniform headpiece changes. Regiments of the british army turnerdonovan military books. This guide will help you to search for british army records of soldiers who served. How to identify the foot guards at buckingham palace. Illustrated history of the kings and queens of england from pitkin.
If youre looking to learn more about the real thing, the other wiki has more relevant information. The grenadier guards gren gds is an infantry regiment of the british army. A lavish history of the armys senior regiments telegraph. It follows the fortunes of the most senior regiments in the british army, and those who. They often are an elite unit of the regular armed forces, or are designated as such, and may maintain special rights or privileges. Illustrated history of the household cavalry 9781405055741. The queens guard are responsible for guarding buckingham palace and st. Getting out the history books intended as source material for gaming again. In fantasy, kings and queens are generally protected by an elite. The creation of a welsh regiment of foot guards was authorised by royal. Explore our range of childrens books inspired by the kings and queens and their royal palaces. Munns book on the history of tiaras is generally considered to be one of the best resources in print about the tiara as an object and an art form.
If you love great britain or windsor castle this is the book. This regimental history of the royal dragoon guards is something new and different in an osprey book. The gunshots on the royal train yesterday were unusual in that it was a security scare triggered by the elite force which guards the royals. Turner donovan military books the worlds finest selection of rare and outofprint books on british military history from 1800 to 1945. I like the dialogue in the 1958 film sea of sand which is set during ww2 in the western desert behind the german lines, in which a group of soldiers are paying a brief silent tribute around the graves of a guards detachment who have perished in a. The scarlet tunic continues to be used into the 21st century, with several armed forces of the commonwealth of nations adopting them as.
Hamilton wrote a history of the of the royal guard regiments in 1874. Peter macfarlane was commissioned into the 5th royal inniskilling dragoon guards in 1989. The royal dragoon guards are an amalgamation of four earlier regiments of horse. For the very first time cameras have been allowed behind the scenes at the royal palaces to see the historic and hidden world of the grenadier guards. The queens guards royal guards at buckingham palace. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when lord wentworths regiment was raised in bruges to protect the exiled charles ii. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. Barney whitespunner, sarah jackson, annabel merullo. They fought in all of britains major wars from the late 17th century onwards. Blues and royals the three oldest and most senior regiments in the british army. Regiments of the british army 0 turnerdonovan military books. The queens guards and queens life guard are famous london icons and guard all of the queens official london residences.
The protagonist is the british royal guard, which consists of. Horse guards is the first major, fully illustrated history of the household cavalry. History of the welsh guards new ed of 1920 ed by c. The regiment currently serves as the armoured cavalry reconnaissance unit of the 20th armoured infantry brigade and is therefore equipped with the combat vehicle reconnaissance. British army soldiers up to 19 the national archives. The five regiments are the grenadier guards, the coldstream guards, the scots guards, the irish guards, and welsh guards. The regiment, through the royal scots greys, is the oldest surviving cavalry regiment of the line in the british army. Strange history of the royals revealed the royal family has had a long and bloody history in britain. The following excerpts from past editions of the britannica book of the year, which began publication in 1938, capture a vivid history of british royal weddings during the 20th century. The royal dragoon guards, formed in 1992 from the 4th7th royal dragoon guards and 5th royal inniskilling dragoon guards, has a proud history dating back to 1685. British brigade of guards in the american revolution. Historical examples were england in 1688, spain in 1808, sweden in 1809, france in. The british army has regiments of both horse guards and foot guards.
A regimental history of the royal dragoon guards, who have fought in all of britains major wars, and have an operational service record spanning more than three centuries. Red coat also spelled as redcoat or scarlet tunic, is a military garment used widely, though not exclusively worn, by most regiments of the british army, royal marines, and some colonial units within the british empire, from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Royal guards at london palaces the men you see in front of buckingham palace and other locations in london as well as windsor are the queens guard foot guards. The royal scots dragoon guards carabiniers and greys scots dg is a cavalry regiment of the british army, and the senior scottish regiment. Funny guy makes royal guard laugh at buckingham palace. Whenever our ensemble cast goes on an adventure touring britain and by britain we mean, of course, london. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments. They often are an elite unit of the regular armed forces, or are designated as such, and may maintain special rights or. A regimental history, 16852018 and millions of other books are. The naturalization process takes five years, meaning you must live in britain five years and presumably hold a job. Iconic figures in british history and culture, the members of the queens guard are fully trained soldiers, assigned with the task of guarding the sovereign residences in great britain, namely, the buckingham palace and st jamess palace.
Together, they seem to have managed to be present at most of britains wars since 1685. The kings guard rae carson ebook harpercollins publishers. Cavalry charges apply, including the life guards, royal horse guards and. The tall, black fur hat worn by grenadier guards as british royal guards is called a bearskin because the entire hide of a black bear is required to make one. They usually consist of foot guards guards on foot wearing fulldress uniform of red tunics and bearskins hats.
I have more books about the british royal family on my to be read list, too. The 4th7th royal dragoon guards and the 5th royal inniskilling dragoon guards. It was the joining of two famous cavalry regiments, the royal horse guards and the royal dragoons, which formed the blues and royals in 1969. Insider spoke to the royal familys former bodyguard to learn about the challenges that come with protecting the likes of prince harry and meghan markle according to simon morgan, who worked as a protection officer for the royals from 2007 to 20, there are many behind the scenes aspects of the job that the media dont see morgan noted that its easy to get swept up by the glamour of. Of course, the romans had the praetorian guard, though i personally would. The british army has regiments of both horse guards and foot guards predating the english restoration, and since the reign of king charles ii these regiments have been responsible for guarding the sovereigns palaces. To understand the rank structure of the guards, a lance corporal has two chevrons instead of one. As well as upholding the traditions of the past through their ceremonial duties, the foot guards also carry out operational duties in the uk and throughout the world as professional. One of the events you cant miss when you visit the buckingham palace in london is the famous change of the british royal guard ceremony. The five regiments of the british army that form the queens guard require 50 to 100 new hats each year. Who were the 5 greatest and worst kingsqueens in the history of englandbritain. What is the hat called that the english royal guards wear. The royal dragoon guards rdg is a cavalry regiment of the british army.
The royal horse guards the blues, noting their tunics descend from a parliamentary regiment of horse, which charles ii reraised when founding the regular british army in 1661. This is the first major history of the household cavalry, which consists of the life guards and the blues and royals the three oldest and most senior regiments in the british army. The royal guards have guarded london royal residences since the reign of king charles ii. There are also description books for the royal artillery, 17491863 and 17731876. The most definitive history of the ultimate castle in the world. What its like to work as a bodyguard to the royal family. After becoming a british citizen, you join the ba go thru. The royal horse guards regiment, the regiment commonly referred to as the blues, is one of only two regiments to trace its origins back to cromwells new model army. Buy horse guards main market by barney whitespunner cbe isbn. Please follow the links below to learn more about our history, battles, deployments and our heroes.
We went on reddit to find the most intriguing information about the queens guard. Originally raised as regiments of horse and dragoons, they were subsequently designated as the 4th, 5th and 7th dragoon guards and the 6th inniskilling dragoons. The horse guards originally consisted of two regiments. With the future of the british army so high on the political agenda, a history of its three most. There are five regiments of foot guards in the household division who provide the queens guard at buckingham palace. Change of the british royal guard at the buckingham palace. The royal dragoon guards have a long and distinguished history dating from 1685. Royal dragoon guards a regimental history 16852018 by. Britannicas coverage of past british royal weddings. A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the. In 1665, this regiment was combined with john russells regiment of guards to form the current regiment, known as the 1st regiment of foot guards. Historical overview the scots guards is a regiment of the guards division of the british army. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options.