Household Cavalry


The Household Cavalry is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. These regiments are divided between the Armoured Regiment stationed at Kiwi Barracks in Wiltshire and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks in London. The Household Cavalry is part of the Household Division and is the Queen's official bodyguard.

Life Guards and Blues and Royals

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. They are the senior regular regiments in the British Army, with traditions dating from 1660, and act as the Queen's personal bodyguard. They are guards regiments and, with the five foot guard regiments, help constitute the seven guards regiments of the Household Division.
RegimentTunic colourPlume colourCollar colourQuick MarchSlow MarchTrot
The Life GuardsRedWhiteBlueMillanollo and
Men of Harlech		Life Guards
Slow March		Keel Row
The Blues and RoyalsBlueRedRedBlues and Royals and
Grand March from Aida		Blues and Royals
Slow March		Keel Row

Organisation

The Household Cavalry as a whole is split into two different units that fulfil very distinct roles. These are both joint units, consisting of personnel from both regiments. Like other Cavalry formations, the Household Cavalry is divided into regiments and squadrons. The whole corps is under the command of the Commander Household Cavalry, who also holds the Royal Household appointment of Silver Stick in Waiting. He is a Colonel, and is assisted by a retired lieutenant colonel as Regimental Adjutant.
The first unit is the Household Cavalry Regiment. 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 Army's order of battle. The HCR has four operational squadrons, three of which are traditional medium reconnaissance squadrons equipped with the combat vehicle reconnaissance or CVR range of vehicles and the fourth is referred to as Command and Support Squadron and includes specialists, such as Forward Air Controllers. One of HCR's squadrons is assigned to the airborne role with 16 Air Assault Brigade as of 2003. The Regiment was formerly based at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, one mile from Windsor Castle, until its move to Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, in May 2019. The men of the Household Division have sometimes been required to undertake special tasks as the Sovereign's personal troops. The Household Cavalry were called to Windsor Castle on 20 November 1992 to assist with salvage operations following the 1992 Windsor Castle fire.
The second unit is the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which is horsed and carries out mounted ceremonial duties on State and Royal occasions. These include the provision of a Sovereign's Escort, most commonly seen on The Queen's Birthday Parade in June each year. Other occasions include state visits by visiting heads of state, or whenever required by the British monarch. The regiment also mounts the guard at Horse Guards. HCMR consists of one squadron from The Life Guards, one from The Blues and Royals and a squadron called Headquarters Squadron, which is responsible for all administrative matters and includes the regimental headquarters, the Riding Staff, Farriers, Tailors and Saddlers. The Regiment has been based at Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge, since 1795.
New troopers and officers are generally first assigned to London upon completion of horsemanship training and remain there for up to three years. Like the five Foot Guards regiments they rotate between the operational unit and ceremonial duties.

Ranks

Officers

Second Lieutenants in The Blues and Royals are known as Cornets.

NCO's and other ranks

The rank names and insignia of non-commissioned officers in the Household Cavalry are unique in the British Army:
Recruits were required to have a very high moral character. Before the Second World War, recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 10 inches tall, but could not exceed 6 feet 1 inch. They initially enlisted for eight years with the colours and a further four years with the reserve.

Army Farriers

There is a farrier on call twenty-four hours a day, at Hyde Park Barracks.
Farriers traditionally combined veterinary knowledge with blacksmiths' skills. They were responsible for hoof trimming and fitting horseshoes to horses. They also dealt with the "humane dispatch of wounded and sick horses", accomplished with the large spike on the end of their axes. Then they used the sharp blade of the axe to chop off the deceased animal's hoof, which was marked with its regimental number. This assisted in keeping track of animals killed in action.
Although the axes are not used any more, army farriers still carry these axes, with their characteristic blade and spike, at ceremonial events such as Trooping the Colour.
In the Blues and Royals, the farriers dress like their comrades in regimental uniform. The distinctive uniform and equipment of the farriers of the Life Guards—blue tunic, black plume and axe—is a historic reminder of the old British Army of the days of James Wolfe. Every cavalry regiment in the Army, other than the Royal Horse Guards, originally wore scarlet for all ranks, except the farriers. Farriers were garbed invariably in sombre blue and bore axes, worn at the side, like the swords of their comrades. When on parade, the troopers drew swords, the Farriers drew axes and carried them at the "Advance".
Following every parade is a duty horse-box, known as the Veterinary Aid Post, with a specialist emergency team in attendance.

Musical Ride

The Musical Ride of the Mounted Regiments of the Household Cavalry was first performed at the Royal Tournament in 1882. The two trumpeters sitting on grey horses were historically intended to form a contrast with the darker horses, so that they could be seen on battlefields when relaying officers' commands to the troops. The troops weave around the trumpeters and the celebrated drumhorse, Spartacus.

Band

The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry was a merger in 2014 of the 35 piece Band of the Blues and Royals and the 35 piece Band of the Life Guards. They are now one band of 64 musicians but wear the uniform of both The Blues and Royals and The Life Guards. They come under CAMUS, the Corps of Army Music. They also provide State Trumpeters for events of state.

Order of precedence

In the British Army Order of Precedence, the Household Cavalry is always listed first and always parades at the extreme right of the line, save in cases that the guns of the Royal Horse Artillery are to be first in line during parades.

Place in British society

The two regiments of the Household Cavalry are regarded as the most prestigious in the British Army, due to their role as the monarch's official bodyguard. Historically, this meant regularly being in close proximity to the reigning sovereign. As such, the soldiers, and especially officers, of the Household Cavalry were once drawn exclusively from the British aristocracy. While this is no longer the case, the Household Cavalry still draws many of its officers from the upper classes and gentry, and maintains a close personal connection to the Royal Family; both Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex were commissioned into the Blues and Royals. On occasions, this has led the Household Cavalry to be accused of elitism.

The Household Cavalry Foundation

The Household Cavalry is supported by the Household Cavalry Foundation, the regimental charity, which raises funds in aid of five core themes: casualties, veterans, serving soldiers, horses and heritage.

The Household Cavalry Regiment Museum

The Household Cavalry has two museums. The Household Cavalry Museum is located at Horse Guards Parade in central London, where the HCMR mounts the Queen's Life Guard. The museum is a very popular tourist attraction with digital audio guides in several languages. The museum includes a window into the working stables of the Queen's Life Guard, allowing visitors to watch ongoing care of the horses throughout the day. Separately, the Household Cavalry Regiment has its own museum at Combermere Barracks in Windsor. A volunteer team organise tours and events and, in particular, administer the regiment's extensive material, documentary and photographic archives. The museum is open to public groups, by appointment.

Notable members