The Royal Guards () is the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

guards of honour of the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...

, tasked with the protection of the Swedish royal family.

History and ceremonies

The Royal Guard is normally divided in two parts, the main guard stationed at the

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...

, and a smaller detachment at Drottningholm Palace. The Royal Guards units has continuously guarded the Swedish royal family in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

since 1523. The duty of forming a "Royal Guard" is rotated by all serving regular and reserve armed forces, including the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

. However, these detachments only serve for about 5–7 days in each rotation, so most of the year the duty is carried out by the Life Guards regiment of Stockholm, consisting of four

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s, one

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

, two

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

, and one guard battalion. Tracing its history through the Household Brigade and Svea Life Guards and Life Guard Dragoons back to the original Royal Guards, this is what constitutes the regiment's claims to being one of the oldest military units and formations in continuous operation. The

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

Company is the

honor guard A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

of the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

's Life Guards for state ceremonies. Their uniform includes

bearskin A bearskin is a tall fur cap derived from mitre#Military uniform, mitre caps worn by grenadier units in the 17th and 18th centuries. Initially worn by only grenadiers, bearskins were later used by several other military units in the 19th centur ...

hats, and white

baldric A baldric (also baldrick, bawdrick, bauldrick as well as other rare or obsolete variations) is a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon (usually a sword) or other implement such as a bugle or drum. The word m ...

s (cross belts) that originally carried the fuses used to light grenades. The grenadiers bear the King's own Life Company banner, which was presented to the unit in 1868 by

Charles XV Charles XV or Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''; Swedish language, Swedish and Norwegian language, Norwegian officially: ''Karl''; 3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden and List of Norwegian monarchs, Norway, there often referred to as C ...

's consort, Queen Louise. Between April and August, the mounted squadrons in light blue

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is among the most formal wear, formal type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for official parade (mili ...

s and silver

pickelhaube The (; , ; from , and , , a general word for "headgear"), also , is a spiked leather or metal helmet that was worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by Prussian and German soldiers of all ranks, as well as firefighters and police. Although it ...

helmets and the

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

in dark blue full dress uniforms with black pickelhaube helmets, both of the Life Guards, can be seen in Stockholm street

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

s and around the Royal Palace. Accompanied by the mounted band, they depart from the K1 Cavalry barracks in

Gärdet Gärdet is a part of Stockholm, Sweden, east and northeast of Östermalm. Its official name is Ladugårdsgärdet. It is renowned for its large number of modernist apartments. Gärdet is one of the largest residential districts built in Stockholm d ...

, and arrive at the Palace around noon (1 p.m. on Sundays and

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

s) for the changing of the guards ceremony. These events attracts large numbers of tourists each summer. In the regular guard mounts, the regular royal guard contingent is composed of the personnel from the King's Guards Battalion, Life Guards.

Gallery

File:Arrivée de la garde au palais royal 1897.webm, Arrival of the Royal Guards in 1897 File:20130525 Stockholm Royal Guard 4131.jpg, Royal Mounted Guards (2013) File:Stockholm - KMB - 16001000541491.jpg, Royal Mounted Guards (2016) File:Stockholm palace guards.jpg, Relieved guard after the changing of the guards ceremony at the Royal Palace. The clear blue uniform is used solely by the soldiers of the Cavalry Battalion File:A guard mounting ceremony at the royal palace in Stockholm.webm, A guard mounting ceremony at the Royal Palace of non-Life Guards units File:Royal guards sweden.jpg, Mounted Royal Guards in front of the palace File:US Navy 100430-N-9917S-005 Capt. Tim Mahan, commanding officer of the guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69), inspects the Royal Palace guards in Stockholm, Sweden.jpg, Captain Tim Mahan, commanding officer of the guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG-69), inspects the Royal Palace guards (2010)

Sources

{{Reflist Military units and formations established in 1523 Military units and formations of Sweden Royal guards Monarchy of Sweden Swedish ceremonial units