Changing the Guard, Guarding the Change of History 1. INTRODUCTION The Queen's Guard and Queen's Life Guard are the names given to contingents of cavalry and infantry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in London. The British Army has had regiments of both Horse Guards and Foot Guards since before the restoration of King Charles II, and, since 1660, these have been responsible for guarding the Sovereign Palaces. The Queen's Guard and Queen's Life Guard is mounted at the royal residences which come under the operating area of London District, which is responsible for the administration of the Household Division; this covers Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace and the Tower of London, as well as Windsor Castle. The Queen's Guard is also mounted at the sovereign's other official residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, but not as regularly as in London. In Edinburgh, the guard is the responsibility of the resident infantry battalion at Redford Barracks. It is not mounted at the Queen's private residences at Sandringham or Balmoral. The Queen's Guard is the name given to the contingent of infantry responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace (including Clarence House) in London. The guard is made up of a company of soldiers from a single regiment, which is split in two, providing a detachment for Buckingham Palace and a detachment for St James's Palace. Because the Sovereign's official residence is still St James's, the guard commander (called the 'Captain of the Guard') is based there, as are the regiment's colours. When the Sovereign is in residence, the Queen's Guard numbers three officers and 40 other ranks, with four sentries each posted at Buckingham Palace (on the forecourt) and St James's Palace (two at the main entrance in Pall Mall, two in Friary Court). This reduces to three officers and 31 ORs, with two sentries each when the Sovereign is not in residence. The Queen's Guard is not purely ceremonial in nature. They provide sentries during the day and night, and during the latter hours they patrol the grounds of the Palace. Until 1959, the sentries at Buckingham Palace were stationed outside the fence. This stopped following an incident involving a female tourist and a Coldstream Guardsman - due to the continued pestering of tourists and sightseers, the guardsman kicked the tourist on the ankle as he marched. The tourist made a complaint to the police and, despite sympathy, the sentry was confined to barracks for ten days. Not long after, the sentries were moved inside the fence At any one time, three infantry battalions are posted for public duties; two of these are Guards battalions (one based at Wellington Barracks next to Buckingham Palace and one at Victoria Barracks in Windsor), while the third is a line infantry unit (based at Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow). In addition, there are three incremental companies based at Chelsea Barracks. All of these units come under the administrative authority of London District - as public duties units, they not only take part in ceremonial, but are also committed to providing military aid to the civilian authorities. 1 Changing the Guard, Guarding the Change of History 2. THE HOUSEHOLD DIVISION The men you will see in front of Buckingham Palace (and other locations) are not just ceremonial guards but also serving Soldiers. While upholding the traditions of the past, they also perform duties throughout the world as professional soldiers and are known as some of the most elite and skilled soldiers in the British Army. This is why Changes may occur in the guard change as the soldiers are required for operational duties. The Household Division is made up of seven Regiments.These comprise: The Household Cavalry Regiment - The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals; and five Regiments of Foot Guards: The Grenadier Guards, The Coldstream Guards, The Scots Guards, The Irish Guards and The Welsh Guards. Most of the time it is soldiers from one of these regiments that will be outside Buckingham Palace, but do not be surprised if on some occasions you do not see the traditional guardsmen, particularly in August when often other regiments guard the Queen. The responsibility of guarding the Sovereign by the Household Troops (as they were known at the time) dates back to the time of Henry VII (1485-1509). These are some of the best soldiers in the British Army and have fought in virtually every major area of conflict with great distinction since the 17th Century. They also take an active role in protecting their Sovereign; at night they patrol the grounds of both Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace. 2 Changing the Guard, Guarding the Change of History 3. IDENTIFY THE REGIMENTS Regiments Life Blues & Grenadier Coldstream Scots Irish Welsh Guards Royals Plume on on worn on worn on None worn on worn on the helmet helmet the left the right the right left Plume White Red White Red None Blue White/Green/ colour White Buttons None None Singly Pairs Threes Four Fives Tunics Red Blue Red Red Red Red Red Head wear Metal Metal Bearskin Bearskin Bearskin Bearskin Bearskin helmet helmet cap cap cap cap cap 3 Changing the Guard, Guarding the Change of History 4. HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions. The British Household Cavalry is classed as a corps in its own right, and consists of two regiments: The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). They are the senior regular regiments in the British Army, with traditions dating from 1660. The regiments are Guards regiments and form Britain's Household Division with the five Foot Guards regiments. The Household Cavalry as a whole is split into two different units which fulfill two very distinct roles. These are both joint units, consisting of personnel from both regiments. Like other Cavalry regiments, the Household Cavalry is divided into regiments (battalion-sized units) and squadrons (company-sized sub-units). The whole corps is under the command of the Commander Household Cavalry (formerly Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Household Cavalry), who also holds Blues and Royals on parade during trooping of the colour the Royal Household appointment of Silver Stick in Waiting. He is a Colonel, and is assisted by a major as Regimental Adjutant. The current Commander is Colonel Paddy Tabor, MVO QCVS, late The Blues and Royals. The first unit is the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR). It has an active operational role as a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, serving in armoured fighting vehicles, which has seen them at the forefront of the nation's conflicts. The regiment serves as part of the Royal Armoured Corps, and forms one of five formation reconnaissance regiments in the British order of battle. One of HCR's Squadrons is assigned to the airborne role with 16 Air Assault Brigade. It is based at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, one mile from Windsor Castle. The men of the Household Division sometimes have been required to undertake special tasks as the Sovereign’s personal troops. The Household Cavalry were called to Windsor Castle on 20th November 1992, to assist with salvage operations in the face of the Great Fire. The second unit is the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR), which is horsed and carries out mounted (and some dismounted) ceremonial duties on State and Royal occasions. These include the provision of a Sovereign's Escort, most commonly seen at the present Queen's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) in June each year. Other occasions include those during State Visits by visiting Heads of State, or whenever required by the British monarch. The regiment also mounts the guard at Horse Guards. It consists of one squadron from each regiment. This has been based (in various forms) at Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge, since 1795. This is three-quarters of a mile from Buckingham Palace, close enough for the officers and men of the Household Cavalry to be available to respond speedily to any emergency at the Palace. Rank structure The rank names and insignia of non-commissioned officers in the Household Cavalry are unique in the British Army: Staff Corporal/Squadron Quartermaster Corporal = Staff Sergeant/Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant: Four chevrons, point up, with crown above, worn on lower sleeve Corporal of Horse = Sergeant: Three chevrons, point down, with metal crown above, worn on upper sleeve 4 Changing the Guard, Guarding the Change of History Lance Corporal of Horse = Corporal: Three chevrons, point down, with cloth crown above, worn on upper sleeve Lance Corporal: Two chevrons, point down, with crown above, worn on upper sleeve Technically, Lance Corporal of Horse is an appointment rather than a rank: a new Household Cavalry corporal is automatically and immediately appointed lance corporal of horse, and is referred to as such thereafter. The Warrant Officer ranks are the same as the rest of the army, but appointments include Regimental Quartermaster Corporal and Squadron Corporal Major (WO2) and Farrier Corporal Major and Regimental Corporal Major (WO1), again excluding the word sergeant. Formerly, sergeant was exclusively an infantry rank: no cavalry regiment had sergeants. Only the Household Cavalry now maintains this tradition, possibly because sergeant derives from the Latin serviens (meaning servant) and members of the Household Cavalry, once drawn exclusively from the gentry and aristocracy, could not be expected to have such a title. However this origin may be apocryphal, since serjeant was a title used by some offices of comparative seniority, such as Serjeants at Arms, and Serjeants at Law. Uniquely, non-commissioned officers and warrant officers of the Household Cavalry do not wear rank insignia on their full dress uniforms (although officers do).