Blues and Royals

A Blues and Royals soldier while on guard duty in Whitehall

Blues and Royals ( German  Die Blauen und die Königlichen ) is the name of a guard cavalry regiment of the British Army , which belongs to the Household Division . Together with the Life Guards , the Blues and Royals form the Household Cavalry .

history

John Manners, Marquess of Granby in the uniform of the "Blues" after the Seven Years' War - painting by Joshua Reynolds , 1763–1765

The Blues and Royals are the in the ranking of the Army ( British Army Order of Precedence second) active regiment of the British army after the lifeguards . They have only existed since 1969, when two cavalry regiments with a long tradition, namely the Royal Horse Guards , also known as "The Blues", and the Royal Dragoons ("The Royals") were merged.

The Royal Horse Guards were originally founded by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 . The second head of the regiment was Unton Crook , who introduced the blue color for the troops. After the restoration it became the Royal Regiment of Horse . Further names followed until the name The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) was firmly established in 1819 .

The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) were the oldest cavalry regiment. In 1662 a unit was formed that was named "The Tanger Horse". Tangier was part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza , a Portuguese princess who married Charles II. In 1684 they were renamed His Majesty's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons .

In the two world wars, they were used on almost all fronts in Europe and North Africa where British troops fought. In 1942 both regiments were equipped with tanks. After the merger, the Blues and Royals took part in many missions in the context of UN peace missions and the Falklands War. There they fought with 4 Scorpion and 4 Scimitar tanks. They were also used in the Second Gulf War and the Northern Ireland conflict.

The two guard cavalry regiments have been operationally combined to form the Household Cavalry Regiment and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment since 1992, but have retained their own uniforms, traditions and identity.

present

Today the Household Cavalry Regiment serves as an armored reconnaissance unit , while the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment is used as a mounted guard regiment . It regularly participates in many important protocol events in the UK, such as B. at Trooping the Color (served), and the annual opening of parliament . In addition, the regiment provides the mounted guard in front of Horse Guards .

Unlike in all other units of the British Army, the sergeants in the Guard Cavalry Regiments do not use the designation Sergeant , but have additional ranks based on the designation Corporal .

The Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment can be recognized by their blue tunic , red helmet tail and white leather gloves.

Honorary colonel of the regiment is Princess Anne . By virtue of this office she is jointly with the Colonel of Honor of the Life Guards Gold Stick for England and Wales . It is now a ceremonial office in the royal household; In the past, the gold stick was responsible for the monarch's personal safety.

From 2006 to 2015, Prince Harry did his military service with the Blues and Royals as a platoon leader .

Battle Honors

The regiment has various battle honors (honorable mentions of battles in which it has participated), some of which are listed on the regimental flag. It also continues the traditions of its predecessor units. Battle Honors (English terms): (in addition to those of the previous units)

• Falkland Islands 1982, Al Basrah, Iraq 2003

See also

• List of British cavalry regiments of the early modern period

Web links

Commons : Blues and Royals  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• official homepage

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Household Cavalry: Standards . Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2014.