Blues and Royals

The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons)
Troopers of the Blues and Royals at the Trooping the Colour parade, London, 2007
Active	23 March 1969-Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Army
Type	Household Cavalry
Role	Formation Reconnaissance/Ceremonial
Size	Three squadrons
Part of	Household Cavalry
Garrison/HQ	RHQ - London Regiment - Windsor/London
Nickname	The Tin Bellies
Motto	Honi soit qui mal y pense (evil be to him who evil thinks)
March	Quick - Quick March of the Blues and Royals Slow - Slow March of the Blues and Royals Trot Past - Keel Row
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	Her Majesty The Queen
Colonel of the Regiment	HRH The Princess Royal
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Arm Badge	Waterloo Eagle from Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons)
Abbreviation	RHG/D

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. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal. Both HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince Harry of Wales joined the regiment as cornets in 2006.

History

The Blues and Royals is one of two regiments of the Household Division that can trace its lineage back to the New Model Army, the other being the Coldstream Guards.

Formation

The regiment was formed in 1969 from the merger of The Royal Horse Guards, which was known as "The Blues" or "The Oxford Blues", and The Royal Dragoons, which was known as "The Royals".

Since then, the new regiment has served in Northern Ireland, Germany and Cyprus. During the Falklands War of 1982, the regiment provided the two armoured reconnaissance troops. The regiment also had a squadron on operational duty with the United Nations in Bosnia in 1994/1995.

Operational union

As a result of the Options for Change Review in 1991, the Blues and Royals formed a union for operational purposes with the Life Guards as the Household Cavalry Regiment. However they each maintain their regimental identity, with distinct uniforms and traditions, and their own colonel. The Blues and Royals currently has two reconnaissance squadrons in Windsor, which are part of the Household Cavalry Regiment, and a mounted squadron in London as part of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Regimental traditions

Newly commissioned officers in the Blues and Royals are named Cornets rather than second lieutenants.

They are the only British Army Regiment entitled to salute without head dress.

Uniform

The Blues and Royals wear the Home Service helmet.

Prince Harry wore the uniform in the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Battle honours

• Tangier 1662-1680, Dettingen, Warburg, Beaumont, Willems, Fuentes d'Onor, Peninsula, Waterloo, Balaclava, Sevastopol, Tel el Kebir, Egypt 1882, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902

• World War I: Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Armentieres 1914, Ypres 1914, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, St Julien, Ypres 1915, Frezenberg, Loos, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Ypres 1917, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Somme 1918, St Quentin, Avre, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Sambre, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914-1918

• The Second World War: Mont Pincon, Souleuvre, Noireau Crossing, Amiens 1944, Brussels, Neerpelt, Nederrijn, Lingen, Veghel, Nijmegen, Rhine, Bentheim, North West Europe 1944-1945, Baghdad 1941, Iraq 1941, Palmyra, Syria 1941, Msus, Gazala, Knightbridge, Defence of Alamein Line, El Alamein, El Agheila, Advance on Tripoli, North Africa 1941-1943, Sicily 1943, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Gothic Line, Italy 1943-1944

• Falkland Islands 1982:
• Iraq 2003*:

*Awarded jointly with the Life Guards for services of the Household Cavalry Regiment

Alliances

• Canada - The Royal Canadian Dragoons
• Canada - The Governor General's Horse Guards

Affiliated Yeomanry

• The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry

Order of precedence

Preceded by The Life Guards

Cavalry Order of Precedence

Succeeded by 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards

External links

• Household Cavalry Museum Website
• Official site
• British Army Locations from 1945 British Army Locations from 1945