The duties of the Household Division are many and varied. As the elite of the British and Commonwealth forces, they have more than the responsibilities of ordinary soldiers, and this article will briefly introduce their duties.
Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace and Windsor Castle, where Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth the Second and members of the Royal Family worked, lived and spent their holidays, were not to be denied security. As early as 1982, Buckingham Palace was broken by a man named Michael Fagan. Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace in 1982 because of lax security, and even entered the Queen's bedchamber (bedroom) and spoke to her, as seen in an episode of The Crown on Netflix and a similar incident in 2019. Of course, Mr Fagan had no intention of harming the Queen but was only trying to convey to her the tragedy of his own unemployment as a result of Thatcherism, but it also reflects the importance of the security work. As the sovereign's private army, the Household Division had the duty of guarding the sovereign's safety. While the changing of the guard ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace was part of entertainment for visitors, the soldiers had the right to shoot anyone who intended to enter and do harmful behaviours. From time to time, troops from the Commonwealth, such as the Canadian Grenadier Guards of Canada or the Royal Malay Regiment of Malaysia, would also visit London on duty.
At the same time, the Household Division, as part of the British Army, was required to carry out its national duties as a member of the Army. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the USA, the UK was an ally of the US in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Grenadier Guards fought with distinction in Operation Herrick, the Coldstream Guards killed Taliban terrorists on three tours of Afghanistan, and the Welsh Guards defended the capital Kabul. The Scots Guards have been stationed in remote areas of Afghanistan to keep the Afghans safe and help train the Afghan police, and the Irish Guards' Desert Rats forces took Basrah in a blaze of glory. These brilliant achievements can be described as a continuation of the glory of the British Empire.
In addition to combat duties, the Household Division also performed ceremonial duties such as parading foreign heads of state when they were received by the Queen as a mark of respect for foreign guests, guiding the Sovereign's carriage at the opening of Parliament, Trooping the Colour Ceremony on the Sovereign's official birthday each year. The Massed Bands of the Household Division is also responsible for the annual Beating Retreat and numerous musical performances.
The combat duties add to the honour of the Household Division, and the ceremonial duties are the embodiment of that honour. The above duties of the Household Division represent an honourable and practical presence, reflecting the British tradition of cherishing their tradition and glory.
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