Page 11 - QDG 2023

The Regiment’s close connection to the Royal Family has been principally maintained through the patronage of Colonels-in-Chief. We were blessed to have had a very long association with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother who had been appointed Colonel-in-Chief of The Queen’s Bays in 1937 and remained in that role when amalgamation with 1st King’s Dragoon Guards formed the current regiment in 1959 until her
death in 2002. During her tenure, she witnessed her regiment’s sadness at losing its Bay horses
on mechanisation, mastery of armoured warfare and the trials
and eventual triumph of wartime service. She was a comforting constant during amalgamation and a gracious and uplifting presence at so many major QDG events.
The loss of such a beloved patron was softened by the good fortune of having His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales appointed Colonel-in-Chief in 2003. For twenty years, including his first as King Charles III, he took a very close and personal interest in the exploits of the Regiment and the welfare of its serving personnel, veterans and families. Despite his busy schedule, he always found the time to be present at major Regimental events and boosted morale by meeting so many members of the Regimental family.
With our Colonel-in-Chief’s succession to the throne, the Colonel of the Regiment was informed by the Equerry to the King that there was to be an announcement on 11th August 2023 on a reallocation of Royal-Regimental relationships as His Majesty had decided to handover the Colonelcy-in-Chief to the next genera- tion. It was clear that His Majesty was very sad to have to say goodbye to his Regiment after so long and it was sad for us too as he had always taken such a close and personal interest in its people, wellbeing and achievements.
As our close relationship with His Majesty would endure as Command- er-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, we were delighted to learn that Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales would succeed him as Colonel-in-Chief of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards. This news was broadcast across the Regi- mental family in the following message from the Colonel of the Regiment:
“There will be an announcement tomorrow (Friday 11th August) of signifi- cant changes in Royal affiliations across Army Regiments as a result of the deaths of the late Queen, Prince Philip and His Majesty The King’s accession to the
throne. I have been informed by Buck- ingham Palace that the King has, with sadness, decided to hand the Colonel- cy-in-Chief of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards to the next generation. Having taken over as our Colonel-in-Chief from his beloved Grandmother, and after 20 years in the role, His Majesty has been a huge support to the Regiment and has taken a very close personal interest in its wellbeing and achievements. Our close relationship with His Majesty will continue as we loyally serve him as Commander- in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
I am delighted to inform you that Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales will be appointed as our new Colonel- in-Chief. I understand that Her Royal Highness is very excited at the prospect and that we will be her only Regular Cavalry Regiment. This close connection to the Princess of Wales has a certain historical symmetry. Our Regimental title reflects The Bays being named The Queen’s Own Royal Regiment of Horse in 1727 in honour of George II’s Queen Consort, Caroline of Ansbach. Prior to that, Caroline had been the Princess of Wales and between 1714 and 1727 the Regimental title was The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment of Horse. So, once again, we will have a close, long- lasting, relationship with a Princess of Wales and future Queen.”
Pro Rege et Patria.
We were delighted to be able to welcome Her Royal Highness into the Regimental family on her first visit to her Regiment at Swanton Morley on 8th November 2023. Spending several hours with us, Her Royal Highness was briefed on the Regiment by the Colonel and Commanding Officer, viewed some key paintings and artefacts in the Officers’ Mess, met members of
Yes ma’am all the paperwork is in order
the Regiment and their families before changing into a combat jacket to drive a Jackal down to a tactical stand where the role of Light Cavalry was brought to life. Our Colonel-in-Chief proved to be a very capable drone operator as evidenced by press photographs that graced the front page of almost every newspaper the following day!
During the visit, the Colonel of the Regiment presented Her Royal Highness with the brooch that was originally given by the Regiment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1959 and we were all thrilled to see her wearing it at the Festival of Remembrance a few days later. Her final act before depar- ture was to promote our mascot to full Corporal.
There was a great buzz around camp the day of her visit and it was wonderful to see how interested she was in learning about her new regiment and how engaged she was in all the briefings and conversations. It was not long after her visit that news of Her Royal Highness’s illness became public and all the Regi- mental family wish her a full and speedy recovery and look forward to many happy interactions with her in the future.
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards 9
Our Colonel-in-Chief
Moments later Capt Wills was climbing a tree to retrieve his drone