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Series: Household Division - Brief Introduction

Updated: Oct 16, 2022



Many people think that the 'Household Divisions' referred only to the Grenadier Guards, but in fact, the Household Divisions are comprised of five Foot Guard Regiments, two Household Regiments, one Horse Artillery and The King's Troop. Artillery and The King's Troop.


The five-foot regiments of the Household Divisions are the Grenadier Guards, the Scots Guards, the Welsh Guards, the Irish Guards, and the Coldstream Guards; two cavalry regiments, the Life Guards and the Royal Blue Guards (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons); and the Royal Horse Artillery and The King's Troop).


The Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Irish Guards are recruited in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards and other cavalry and artillery guards are recruited nationally. It is worth noting that although the public image of the Household Divisions is that of guarding the palace and carrying out ceremonial duties such as guarding the Buckingham Palace or Trooping the Colour Ceremony (the Queen's birthday parade), the Household Divisions, as part of the British Army, is also deployed overseas on a daily basis to carry out In recent times, it has been deployed to the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War and many others in the Modern History of Britain. The role of the Household Divisions was not merely ceremonial but was in the nature of the British Army and the Sovereign's Guard and was responsible for ceremonial duties. This is different from the situation in China, where the three military ceremonial guards only practised marching and performed ceremonial duties and had no practical experience in combat.


Although the British Army supported the republican parliamentary faction (the so-called "Roundhead") during the English Civil War and served Oliver Cromwell, it did not prevent the British Army from having the title of "Royal" as the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force did, but it did not prevent the rest of the British Army, including the regiments and guards of the Household Divisions, from having the title of "Royal". This did not prevent the other regiments and guards of the British Army, including regiments from the Household Divisions, from having the title of "Royal". The Blues and Royals, whose full name is "The First Royal Dragoon Guards", was created by Cromwell’s command during the Civil War but went on to support the restoration of the reign of the British Crown and was given the title "Royal" as part of its cherished military honour and tradition.


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