Household Cavalry
|
Dismounted Blues and Royals (left) and Life Guards (right) preparing to line the route of the Garter procession at Windsor Castle |
Household Cavalry is used across the
Commonwealth to describe the
cavalry of the
Household Divisions.
Canada's
Governor General's Horse Guards and
India's
President's Bodyguard employ armoured vehicles for combat duties and equestrian units for ceremonial functions.
When used without national qualification, however, the term generally refers to the Household Cavalry of the
British Army.
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.
| Regiment | Tunic Colour | Plume Colour | Collar Colour | | The Life Guards | Red | White | Black |
| The Blues and Royals | Blue | Red | Red |
| The Life Guards Farrier | Blue | Black | Red |
|
Life Guards on duty in Whitehall |
The Household Cavalry as a whole is split into two different units which fulfil 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 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.
|
Blues and Royals on parade during trooping of the colour |
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.
|
Trooper of the Blues and Royals |
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:
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). Rank is indicated by a system of
aiguillettes.
Private soldiers in the Household Cavalry, as in other cavalry regiments, are called "
Troopers".
Second Lieutenants in the Blues and Royals are known as
Cornets.
In the
British Army Order of Precedence, the Household Cavalry is always listed first and always parades at the extreme right of the line, unless the
Royal Horse Artillery is on parade with its guns.
*
James Blunt (Life Guards)
*
James Hewitt (Life Guards)
*
Prince Harry (Blues and Royals)
*
Household Division*
Structure of the British Army*
Queen's Guard
