| The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) |
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|---|---|
 Troopers of the Blues and Royals at the Trooping of the Colour parade, London, 2007 |
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| 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 (Shame on him who thinks this evil) |
| 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 | HM The Queen |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
HRH The Princess Royal, LG, LT, GCVO |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |  |
| Sleeve 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 Prince William of Wales and HRH Prince Harry of Wales joined the regiment as cornets in 2006.
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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 uniforms
Regimental traditions
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
- The Great War: 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
*Awarded jointly with the Life Guards for services of the Household Cavalry Regiment
Alliances
Affiliated Yeomanry
Order of Precedence
| Preceded by: The Life Guards |
Cavalry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by: 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards |
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blues and Royals |
- Household Cavalry Museum Website
- Official site
- British Army Locations from 1945 British Army Locations from 1945
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