| The Life Guards | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge of the regiment | |
| Active | 21 May 1922[i]–present |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Horse Guards |
| Role | Armoured reconnaissance andceremonial |
| Size | Regiment |
| Part of | Household Cavalry |
| Garrison/HQ | HCMR – London HCR –Bulford Camp |
| Mottos | Honi soit qui mal y pense (Middle French for 'Shame on him who thinks evil of it') |
| March | Quick: "Milanollo" Slow: "Life Guards Slow March" Trot past: "Keel Row" |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-in-Chief | King Charles III |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Lt Gen SirEdward Smyth-Osbourne |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |  |
| Abbreviation | LG |
TheLife Guards (LG) is the most senior regiment of theBritish Army and part of theHousehold Cavalry, along withThe Blues and Royals.
_-_Private%2c_2nd_Troop_of_Horse_Guards%2c_1751_-_RCIN_405605_-_Royal_Collection.jpg)
The Life Guards grew from the fourtroops of Horse Guards (exclusively formed ofgentleman rankers until the transformation of the last two remaining troops into Regiments of Life Guards in 1788)[1][2] raised byCharles II around the time of hisrestoration, plus two troops ofHorse Grenadier Guards (rank and file composed of commoners),[3] which were raised some years later.[4]
These units first saw action during theThird Anglo-Dutch War in 1672 and then at theBattle of Sedgemoor during theMonmouth Rebellion in 1685.[5]
The 3rd and 4th troops were disbanded in 1746.[4] In 1788, the remaining 1st and 2nd troops, along with the two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards, were reorganised into two regiments, the1st and2nd Regiments of Life Guards (from 1877, simply1st Life Guards and2nd Life Guards).[4] From then on (1788), rank and file were mostly formed of commoners giving rise to their pejorative nickname: "the cheesemongers",[6] while the bulk of the gentlemen-troopers were pensioned off.[7]
From 1812 to 1814, two squadrons from each of the Life Guard regiments served in thePeninsular War.[8] In 1815 they were part ofThe Household Brigade at theBattle of Waterloo under Major-GeneralLord Edward Somerset.[5] This would be their last active service for more than 60 years, during which time they performed ceremonial and public order duties in London.[8]
In 1821, the Life Guards under the command of Captain Oakes fired upon mourners trying to redirect the funeral procession ofQueen Caroline through the city of London. Two civilians were killed. Though charges of manslaughter and murder were brought, no Life Guards were prosecuted.[9]
Elements of the Life Guards, along with theRoyal Horse Guards, formed theHousehold Cavalry Composite Regiment (HCCR) for active service. The HCCR was in action in theAnglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and theSecond Boer War of 1899 to 1902. The HCCR was mobilized again in 1914 at the start of theFirst World War, where they formed part of theBritish Expeditionary Force and fought in most of the major battles on theWestern Front.[8]
In 1918, the two Life Guards regiments gave up their horses and were re-roled as machine gun battalions, becoming the 1st and 2nd Battalions,Guards Machine Gun Regiment. They reverted to their previous names and roles after the end of the war.[5] In 1922, the two regiments were merged into one regiment,The Life Guards (1st and 2nd).[4] In 1928, it was re-designatedThe Life Guards.[5]
During theSecond World War, again forming part of the HCCR, the Life Guards undertookarmoured reconnaissance duties in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Italy.[8] In 1944, the Life Guards took part in theNormandy landings and the advance through France to liberateBrussels.[5] In the late 1940s, they were deployed to the Middle East, initially inEgypt, garrisoned at Kasr-el-Nil Barracks inCairo from 1946 to 1947, and then inPalestine from 1947. In 1948, the unit left the Middle East and returned to England on leave. In 1952, it returned toGermany as part of the11th Armoured Division.[10]
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the unit repeatedly rotated from Britain to Germany. In 1965, the unit was deployed to Asia for the first time in centralMalaysia until 1968, returning to England. Like in the past decades, the unit was stationed in West Germany and England through the early to late 1970s. During its deployments, the unit always maintained a squadron in London conducting public duties. In 1971, several squadrons were deployed to Northern Ireland duringThe Troubles, and the regiment would see action there several more times through the mid-1970s. In March 1979, B Squadron was deployed toCyprus as part of theUnited Nations Peacekeeping Force, and this would become another location that components of the unit would be deployed to.[10]
In 1980, the unit's headquarters would be moved from Combermere Barracks in Windsor to Lothian Barracks inDetmold,North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany as a part of the4th Armoured Division of theBritish Army of the Rhine, in a heavy armoured role equipped withChieftain MBT, and also tasked with the defense of part of theNorth German Plain. In January 1981 it became a component of the20th Armoured Brigade.[11] The unit provided a mounted escort for thenCharles, Prince of Wales and thenLady Diana Spencer during theirwedding ceremony on 29 July 1981, inLondon. Throughout the rest of the 1980s-1990s, its headquarters moved frequently from Germany to Britain, and in January 1984 had squadrons deployed to Cyprus as part of a UN tour.[10] In 1990–1991, the Life Guards saw action with theirChallenger 1 tanks in theGulf War.[12]
In 1992, as part of theOptions for Change defence review, The Life Guards were joined with theBlues and Royals in a 'Union', becoming part of the newHousehold Cavalry, classified as a corps, not an amalgamation, forming theHousehold Cavalry Regiment (armoured reconnaissance) and theHousehold Cavalry Mounted Regiment (ceremonial duties). However, both units maintain their regimental identity, with distinct uniforms and traditions, and their owncolonel.[5] LikeThe Blues and Royals, they have a peculiar non-commissioned rank structure: In brief, they lacksergeants, replacing them with multiple grades of corporal.[13] Since the union, the Household Cavalry Regiment has seen active service in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.[12]
In 2018, the Life Guards began admitting women.[14] In 2020,Elizabeth Godwin became the first woman to be commissioned as an officer in the Life Guards.[14]
Names used by the regiment were as follows:[4]
On ceremonial occasions, The Life Guards wear a scarlet tunic, a metalcuirass anda matching helmet with a whiteplume worn bound on the top into an 'onion' shape; the exceptions to this are the regiment's trumpeters, who wear a red plume, and farriers, who wear blue tunics and have a black plume.[15] In addition, The Life Guards wear their chin strap below their lower lip, as opposed toThe Blues and Royals, who wear it under their chin. On service dress, The Life Guards Officers and Warrant Officers Class One wear a red lanyard on the right shoulder, as well as aSam Browne belt.[16] The Life Guards, as part of the Household Division, does not use theOrder of the Bath Star for its officer rank "pips", but rather theOrder of the Garter Star.[17]
The battle honours are:[18][combined battle honours of 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards, with the following emblazoned]:[ii]
The Commanding Officers of the regiment have been:[19]
The Colonels-in-Chief of the regiment were:[20]
The Regimental Colonels were:[20]
| Preceded by First in Order of Precedence of the Cavalry | Cavalry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by |
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| General (lists) |
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