Page 159 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 10
The Household Cavalry and the King’s Troop: Mighty Warrior Horses
The Household Cavalry consists of the two most senior regiments in the British Army – the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals.
As well as being the public face of the British Army both at home and abroad the regiment has earned a formidable reputation on the battlefield, having served in the majority of high-profile conflicts in history from the Battle of Waterloo to the war in Afghanistan. At home, the Household Cavalry’s duties range from being the Sovereign’s most trusted guardians to providing security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and assisting flood victims in Berkshire in 2014.
Today, as part of the Household Cavalry, both the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals operate as both an armoured reconnaissance unit and as a ceremonial guard to the monarch.
Galloping into history:
The Life Guards is the senior regiment in the British Army, its origins dating back to the 1650s and a King in exile.
On 3rd September 1651 the Battle of Worcester marked the end of the English Civil War and the beginning of Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian rule. The defeated monarch, Charles II, and a small group of his loyal Royalists narrowly escaped capture and made it into exile in Europe where, for the next nine years, they lived and planned their return to England. On the news of Cromwell’s death, on 3rd September 1658, gentlemen from King Charles II’s court-in-exile in the Netherlands raised three troops of Cavalry – which were initially sent as part of Charles’s contribution to the Spanish War (1654 – 1660) against the English Commonwealth and its French allies. But when Charles II was restored to the throne of England in 1660, the three units joined him as his personal bodyguard. A role they continued to fulfil as the Life Guards.
The Blues and Royals regiment was formed in 1969 – an amalgamation of The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) and The Royal Dragoons (1st
Dragoons). This joining of forces brought together over 300 years of vigorous, independent, and distinguished military Service by two famous British Cavalry Regiments.
“The Blues” – the Royal Horse Guards – ironically owe their roots to Oliver Cromwell and the Third English Civil War (1649 – 1651). Within a month of invading Scotland, Cromwell ordered Sir Arthur Haselrig to raise a regiment of cuirassiers1 (armoured heavy cavalry) in Newcas- tle-upon-Tyne and requested they wear dark blue uniforms. However, after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the regiment transferred to royal service and new Royalist officers were appointed.
Their first Colonel, in 1661, was the 20th Earl of Oxford. Oxford’s force, also known as The Royal Regiment of Horse, continued to wear their distinctive blue uniforms, soon earning the nickname “The Oxford Blues” – later abbreviated to, “The Blues”. For their gallantry at the Battle of Waterloo, “The Blues” were elevated to the Household Cavalry and granted honours and privileges formerly restricted to The Life Guards alone.
This placed “The Blues” – The Royal Horse Guards – second in the Cavalry order of precedence behind the Life Guards, who had served the Crown from inception.
The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) were raised in 1661 and, once again, Charles II had a part to play in the regiment’s formation, although its roots also lay with the Parliamentarians.
In 1661, Charles raised army units to garrison Tangier, which became a new English possession under the terms of his marriage to Catherine of Braganza. One of the regiments – The Tangier Horse – was a single troop raised from Cavalry veterans of the Parliamentary Army. This was soon expanded to four troops and ranked as the 1st Dragoons, and then The King’s Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons after Charles himself.
When the regiment returned to England in 1684, it was merged with another three troops and
1 Cavalry equipped with cuirasses, sword and pistol.
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