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In the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
, the Horse Guards comprised several independent troops raised initially on the three different establishments. In the late 1660s, there were thus three troops in England, one in Ireland, and two in Scotland of which one was ceremonial for attendance of Lord High Commissioner (named after John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton and after John Leslie, 7th Earl of Rothes). In 1707, there were four troops of Horse Guards (the three original English and one Scots), and two troops of Horse Grenadiers. From 1658 to 1788, the Horse Guards existed as independent troops. They were placed on the English establishment in 1661, with the founding of the modern Regular British Army. In 1788, as part of the re-organisation of the British Army, the remaining 1st and 2nd Troops were united with the 1st and 2nd Troops of Horse Grenadier Guards to form, respectively, the
1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
and 2nd Regiments of Life Guards. Originally, as befitted their role as bodyguards to the Sovereign, the ranks of these Troops were filled by members of the gentry. They, therefore, had no non-commissioned officers, their ''brigadiers'' (i.e.
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...
s) being commissioned and ranking as
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
s, their ''sub-brigadiers'' (i.e. sub-corporals) ranking with
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...
s in the rest of the army. Although this no longer obtains, the non-commissioned officers of their successor regiment, the
Life Guards Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...
, are still grades of Corporal, rather than sergeants.


1st Troop 658-1788/h1>

*1658-1788 1st (His Majesty's Own) Troop of Horse Guards ormed in exile in Holland from followers of Charles II *1746 absorbed 3rd Troop, The Horse Guards. *1788 absorbed 1st Troop, The Horse Grenadier Guards and was reorganised to form the 1st Regiment of Life Guards


2nd Troop 659-1788/h1>

*1659 aised as a Parliamentary life guard for attending the Council of State * Nov 1659 re-modelled as Monck's Life Guards *1660-1661 3rd (The Duke of Albemarle's) Troop of Horse Guards. *1661-1670 3rd (The Lord General's) Troop of Horse Guards. *1670-1788 2nd (The Queen's) Troop of Horse Guards. *1788 absorbed 4th Troop, The Horse Guards. *1788 On 8 June it absorbs the 2nd Troop, The Horse Grenadier Guards, and on 25 June it is reorganised to form the
2nd Regiment of Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated w ...
.


3rd Troop 658-1746/h1>

*1658-1670 2nd (The Duke of York's) Troop of Horse Guards ormed in exile in Holland from followers of Charles II*1670-1746 3rd (The Duke of York's) Troop of Horse Guards *1746 absorbed by 1st Troop, The Horse Guards.


Scots and 4th Troop


4th Troop 686-1689

*1686-1689 4th ( Lord Dover's) Troop of Horse Guards isbanded_upon_the_deposing_of_James_II_of_England_.html" ;"title="James_II_of_England.html" ;"title="isbanded upon the deposing of James II of England">isbanded upon the deposing of James II of England ">James_II_of_England.html" ;"title="isbanded upon the deposing of James II of England">isbanded upon the deposing of James II of England


4th (Dutch) Troop [1689-1699]

*1599 raised on 30 April in Holland as a troop of horse and redesignated in 1665 as ''Garde du Corps van Zijne Majesteit'', i.e., ''His Majesties Life Guards''.DutchRegiments.org
(in Dutch).
*1689-1699 Placed on English establishment in 1689 and returned to Dutch service in 1699 upon conclusion of the Nine Years' War and the Treaty of Ryswick. During this period the Dutch troop was ranked as the 4th Troop of Life Guards. In literature this troop is sometimes confused with the Dutch Regiment of Horse Guards, known as Portland's Horse after its commander
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. He ...
. *1705 The troop lost its Guards status.


4th (Scots) Troop 709-1746

*1661-1709 Scots Troop of Horse Guards aised on the Scottish establishment*1709-1746 4th Troop of Horse Guards ransferred to the British establishment*1746 absorbed by 2nd Troop, The Horse Guards.


Other Troops


The Scottish Troop 661-1676

Raised on the Scottish Establishment for attendance on the Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland. *1661-1663 The Earl of Middleton's Troop of Horse Guards *1664-1676 The Earl of Rothe's Troop of Horse Guards


The Irish Troop 662-1685

*1662 raised on the Irish Establishment *1685 disbanded following the ascent of James II


Remarks

In some literature reference is made to the existence of a 4th, 5th and 6th Troop of Horse Guards, between 1661 and 1683, 1664 and 1676, and 1664 and 1685, respectively. However, no explicit evidence if found of these troopsSee, e.g., Charles Dalton (1892). ''English army lists and commission registers, 1661-1714'', volume 1. and it is thought that these 4th, 5th and 6th Troops were confused with the Scots Troop, the (other) Scots Troop for attendance of the Lord High Commissioner, and the Irish Troop.


Ranks

766 __NOTOC__ Year 766 ( DCCLXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 766 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...


Officers

* Captain and ColonelThe Scots Magazine, Vol XXXV, p. 501 et seqq.
/ref> * First Lieutenant and Lieutenant Colonel * Second Lieutenant and Lieutenant Colonel * Guidon and Major


Others

* Exempt and Captain * Brigadier or Adjutant and Lieutenant * Sub-Brigadier and Cornet * Gentleman


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horse Guards Regiments of the British Army Former guards regiments 1658 establishments in England Household Cavalry