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| Royal Guard | |
|---|---|
| Guardia Real | |
 | |
| Founded | 1504; 521 years ago (1504) |
| Country |  Spain |
| Allegiance | Monarchy of Spain |
| Type | Royal guard |
| Role | Executive protection Foot guards Honor guard |
| Size | 1,500 troops (1regiment) |
| Part of |  Spanish Armed Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Royal Palaces |
| Mottos | Al servicio de la Corona ("At the service of the Crown") |
| March | Himno de la Guardia Real ("Hymn of the Royal Guards") |
| Anniversaries | October 12 |
| Commanders | |
| Chief Colonel |  Colonel Juan Manuel Salom Herrera |
| Notable commanders | |
TheRoyal Guard (Spanish:Guardia Real) is an independentregiment of theSpanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of theKing of Spain and members of theSpanish royal family. It is currently composed of 1,500 troops.[1] While the Guard participates in parades and other ceremonial events, it is a fully functional combat unit. Its members are recruited from the ranks of all three branches of the Spanish Armed Forces and receive the same combat training as regular soldiers.
The Royal Guard is composed of a variety units: aMarine Infantry company from the Navy, a paratroop company from the Air and Space Force and an Infantry company from the Army, among others. Some units served in Afghanistan and Bosnia.
The history of the Royal Guard dates back tomedieval times. The senior unit and one of the oldest guards corps in the world is the Corps of Gentlemen of the Chamber, theMonteros de Espinosa, dating to 1006 and created bySancho Garcia of theHouse of Castile.
Even before the time of the first monarch of Spain, theCatholic Monarchs formed the Guardias Viejas de Castilla ("Old Guards ofCastile"). Later on, the first monarch of Spain,Charles V ordered that a company of those guards to reside and continuously stand guard in his palace, denominating itLos Cien Continos ("The Continuous Hundred").
When arriving in Spain in 1502, Charles V's father,Philip the Handsome brought with him hisGuardia Borgoñona ("Burgundian Guards"). They were also called theGuardia de los Archeros (akaGuardia de Cuchilla > "Guards of the Blade") because they were armed with aglaive-type polearm called anarcha, not because they were archers (arqueros). Their purpose was to secure the royal household by standing guard or patrolling the grounds on horseback. These group of Royal Guards with their Burgundian style, together with two units ofalabarderos ("halberdiers"), would remain in service until the reorganization of the Troops of the Royal Household (Tropas de Casa Real) byPhilip V. During his reign, the Royal Guards were organized into:
In the 19th century the Guards were reinforced by theSpanish Marine Infantry, which formed its own unit.
In 1824-25 the Guards was expanded into a fully independent army group reporting to the sovereign and the Royal Military Household with two full corps following the example of France's Napoleonic Imperial Guard and Borbon Restorationist Royal Guards:
In the 1840s only the internal units of the Royal Guards remained as the others were disbanded or transferred to the regular Army. In 1868 the Halberdiers stood down, only to be reformed under King Amadeo I as the Royal Guard Battalion of one infantry company and one cavalry troop and revived as a full battalion under his successor, Alfonso XII.
The Guards were disbanded in 1931 as a result of the formation of theSecond Republic and was replaced by the Presidential Horse Guards Squadron (Escuadrón de Escolta Presidencial), which was a cavalry formation. By 1936, it included the infantry Presidential Guards Battalion (Batallón de Guardia Presidencial), which remained loyal to the Republic during thecivil war.
UnderFrancisco Franco, by Decree of February 4, 1949, the Military House of the Generalissimo was reorganized and on the basis of the republican formations the Regiment of the Guards of His Excellency the Head of State (Regimiento de la Guardia de Su Excelencia el Jefe del Estado), later on the Guards Regiment of HE the Generalissimo (Regimiento de la Guardia de S.E. el Generalísimo), was activated, which included a mounted squadron (theGuardia Mora) which was first raised from surplus personnel of theRegulares. After several reorganizations, the unit would last until Franco's death as a combined arms guards regiment.
Upon Franco's death and the ascension of KingJuan Carlos I as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the guards regiment was integrated into the new army under the king, forming the basis of what is now the modern day Guardia Real - the Royal Guards Regiment (Regimento de la Guardia Real), which is responsible to the king through the Ministry of Defense.[2] In the 1980s it grew into a three-battalion regiment. Today it is a four-battalion unit that serves as the protocol and security service of the Spanish royal family.
In 2002, asection from the Royal GuardsLand ArmyCompany deployed to Kosovo as part of peacekeeping efforts there.
The following year, a platoon from the Royal GuardsAir & Space ForceCompany and a platoon from theNaval Infantry Marine Company of the Royal Guards also joined the peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo and was stationed there throughout the year.
In 2005, a section from theLand ArmyCompany of the Royal Guards deployed again to Kosovo.
In 2006, a platoon from the Royal GuardsAir & Space ForceCompany deployed to Afghanistan.
In 2007, a mixedsection (made up of members from all the branches) of the Royal Guards deployed again to Kosovo.[3]
The primary function of the Royal Guard is to provide military security for the monarchy. In addition to protecting members of the Spanish royal family, the present functions of the unit include the protection of foreign heads of state visitingSpain, and of royal palaces such as theRoyal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real), thePalace of El Pardo and thePalace of Zarzuela.
The regiment is an active combat unit and has been deployed toBosnia andAfghanistan.[4][3][5] The Guard regularly takes part in military exercises organized in conjunction with all three of the main branches of Spain's military.
It is involved in the changing of the guard ceremony (Cambio de la Guardia) at the Royal Palace.[6] It is present atmilitary parades in the national capital ofMadrid onofficial holidays includingFiesta Nacional de España andDía de la Constitución. Annually, it has a troop review during thePascua Militar ceremony on 6 January.
| NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Royal Guard |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coronel | Teniente coronel | Comandante | Capitán | Teniente | Alférez | |||||||||||||||||||
| NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Royal Guard |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Suboficial mayor | Subteniente | Brigada | Sargento primero | Sargento | Cabo mayor | Cabo primero | Cabo | Soldado de primera | Soldado | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
