Household Cavalry

The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons).

The Life Guards (LG) is the senior regiment of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry, along with the Blues and Royals.

The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons).

The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.

These regiments are divided between the Armoured Regiment stationed at Combermere Barracks in Windsor and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks (Knightsbridge Barracks) in London.

It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both regiments together form the Household Cavalry (HCav).

These regiments are divided between the Armoured Regiment stationed at Combermere Barracks in Windsor and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks (Knightsbridge Barracks) in London.

The HCMR is one of two operational units that form the Household Cavalry (HCav), the other being the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR).

These regiments are divided between the Armoured Regiment stationed at Combermere Barracks in Windsor and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks (Knightsbridge Barracks) in London. The Regiment has been based (in various forms) at Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge, since 1795. There is a farrier on call "round the clock, twenty-four hours a day, at Hyde Park Barracks".

Hyde Park Barracks is three-quarters of a mile from Buckingham Palace, close enough for the officers and men of the Household Cavalry to be available to respond speedily to any emergency at the Palace and also to conduct their ceremonial duties.

Like other Cavalry formations, the Household Cavalry is divided into regiments (battalion-sized units) and squadrons (company-sized sub-units).

Company-sized organisations in units with a horse-mounted heritage, such as the Household Cavalry, Royal Armoured Corps, Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Army Air Corps, Special Air Service, Honourable Artillery Company and Royal Logistic Corps, use the term squadron instead of company, and in the Royal Artillery they are called batteries.

These include the provision of a Sovereign's Escort, most commonly seen on The Queen's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) in June each year.

The Queen travels down the Mall from Buckingham Palace in a royal procession with a sovereign's escort of Household Cavalry (mounted troops or horse guards).

The HCR has four operational squadrons, three of which are traditional medium reconnaissance squadrons equipped with the combat vehicle reconnaissance (tracked) or CVR(T) range of vehicles (Scimitar, Spartan, Sultan, Samson and Samaritan) and the fourth is referred to as Command and Support Squadron and includes specialists, such as Forward Air Controllers.

The first British regiment to be equipped with the Scorpion was the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry in 1973.

They are guards regiments and, with the five foot guard regiments, help constitute the seven guards regiments of the Household Division.

Further battalions (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions) were formed by conversion of the Household Cavalry regiments.

These regiments are divided between the Armoured Regiment stationed at Combermere Barracks in Windsor and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks (Knightsbridge Barracks) in London.

Household Cavalry

The whole corps is under the command of the Commander Household Cavalry (formerly Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Household Cavalry), who also holds the Royal Household appointment of Silver Stick in Waiting.

The office is held jointly by the Colonels of the Life Guards (LG) and the Blues and Royals (RHG/D), both being Regiments of the Household Cavalry of the Household Division.

They are guards regiments and, with the five foot guard regiments, help constitute the seven guards regiments of the Household Division. The Household Cavalry is part of the Household Division and is the Queen's official bodyguard.

Household Cavalry (composed of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals)

For military units of the same level as a company, the equivalent may be squadron sergeant major (SSM) or battery sergeant major (BSM). In the Household Cavalry, squadron corporal major (SCM) is the equivalent.

The Household Cavalry were called to Windsor Castle on 20 November 1992 to assist with salvage operations following the 'Great Fire'.

The Household Cavalry arrived from nearby Combermere Barracks.

Lance-corporal of horse (LCoH) is an appointment unique to the Household Cavalry of the British Army, equivalent to lance sergeant in the Foot Guards.

Corporal of horse (CoH) is a rank in the British Army's Household Cavalry corresponding to sergeant in other regiments.

Staff corporal (SCpl or S/Cpl) is the equivalent rank to staff sergeant in the Household Cavalry, ranking between corporal of horse and warrant officer class 2.

In the British Army Order of Precedence, the Household Cavalry is always listed first and always parades at the extreme right of the line, save in cases that the guns of the Royal Horse Artillery are to be first in line during parades.

Under ordinary circumstances, the Household Cavalry parades at the extreme right of the line.

In the Household Cavalry, which does not use the term "sergeant", the designation is replaced with quartermaster corporal (QMC), as in squadron quartermaster corporal and regimental quartermaster corporal.

The badge of rank is a single chevron worn on both sleeves, or on an epaulette on the front of the Combat Soldier 95 dress standard (although lance corporals in the Foot Guards, Honourable Artillery Company, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, and The Queen's Royal Hussars wear two chevrons and in the Household Cavalry two chevrons surmounted by the crown are worn).

The Regiment has been based (in various forms) at Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge, since 1795.

To the north of the area, is the Hyde Park Barracks of the Household Cavalry, with a distinctive 33 storey tower by Sir Basil Spence.

Ray Milland (Royal Horse Guards The Blues) 1927 film actor

Before becoming an actor, Milland served in the Household Cavalry of the British Army, becoming a proficient marksman, horseman, and aeroplane pilot.

While this is no longer the case, the Household Cavalry still draws many of its officers from the upper classes and gentry, and maintains a close personal connection to the Royal Family; both Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex were commissioned into the Blues and Royals.

In April 2006, Harry completed his officer training and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army.

In the Household Cavalry the equivalent rank is staff corporal.

There is a farrier on call "round the clock, twenty-four hours a day, at Hyde Park Barracks".

In the British Army, the Household Cavalry have farriers who march in parade in ceremonial dress, carrying their historical axes with spikes.