The Svea Life Guards (), also I 1, was a

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 ...

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 ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison 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 ...

and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj:ts Liv- och Hustrupper'') until 1974.

History

1500s–1900s

Svea Life Guards, the

's first guard infantry regiment, originated from the

Trabant Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...

Corps that surrounded the first Vasa Kings and is said to have been formed in 1526. The Trabant Corps seems to have, at least in part, been included in the enlisted regiment established in 1613, which consisted mostly of Germans, which under the names of the King's Life and Court Regiment (''Konungens liv- och hovregemente''), the Yellow Regiment (''Gula regementet'') and the Yellow Brigade (''Gula brigaden'') participated in

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

' campaign in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The regiment's first two companies formed the king's

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

and consisted mostly of Swedes. The 60 survivors of the guard after the Battle of Lützen, followed the king's corpse to Sweden, after which the guard, whose staff has been increased to 148 men, united in 1644 with one established regiment in the

Baltic governorates The Baltic Governorates, originally the Ostsee Governorates, was a collective name for the administrative units of the Russian Empire set up in the territories of Swedish Estonia, Swedish Livonia (1721) and, afterwards, of the Duchy of Courland ...

and one established regiment in

Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south-central Sweden and is one of the three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tive ...

into a large court regiment of which

Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (15 October 1622 – 26 April 1686) was a Swedish Empire, Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden, Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three ...

was the commander. Most of the regiment was disbanded after 1660, but the part still in Sweden was developed into a Guard or Court Regiment. Eventually increased to 24 companies, it participated in Charles XII's War and was lost after the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

, but was then reestablished. The Life Guards as the regiment then was commonly known, was given the name Svea Guards (''Svea garde'') in 1792. The regiment had its barracks at Fredrikshov Castle in

Östermalm Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of Sweden's most populous and exclusive districts. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest ho ...

, Stockholm from 1802. In 1808 it lost for a short time its dignity of being a guard and was then called Fleetwood's Enlisted Regiment (''Fleetwoodska värvade regementet''). It was in 1809 again called Svea Guards (''Svea garde'') and received the name Svea Life Guards (''Svea livgarde'') the same year. From having been divided into 10 companies of 80 men, the regiment was in 1831 divides into eight companies with a total of 820 men. After the Defence Act of 1901, it increased into 12 companies (three battalions) and 1 machine gun company, but its number strength of volunteers was reduced to 555 men (music staff included) and after the Defence Act of 1914 further to 540 men. Svea Life Guards was an enlisted regiment and its staff, which was stationed in the barracks at Fredrikshov, was permanently employed. In the early 1800s compulsory military service in Sweden was introduced on a modest scale. As a result of the increased multiform unrest in Europe during the 1850s, it increased the conscripts appropriated exercise period from 12 to 30 days, spread over the first two years of conscript military service. These exercises took place during the summer. However, when the space in the barracks was too small to accommodate these conscripts, they were placed in

bivouac shelter A bivouac shelter or bivvy (alternately ''bivy'', ''bivi'', ''bivvi'') is any of a variety of improvised camp site or shelter that is usually of a temporary nature, used especially by soldiers or people engaged in backpacking, bikepacking, sco ...

s at Ladugårdsgärdet. The cramped space at Fredrikshov and the unhygienic conditions there and the ever-increasing need to place conscripts in barracks, forced the decision on the construction of modern barracks for the two foot guards regiments, Svea Life Guards and Göta Life Guards. It was decided that the plateau above Fredrikshov, was the most well-situated location for the barracks, adjacent to the large practice field, which northern

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

then still was. Palace intendant, Professor Ernst Jacobsson, was instructed to carry out the drawings and in the autumn of 1888 Svea Life Guards could during great celebrations, led by their head, King Oscar II, take possession of their new barracks.

1900s–2000s

In the early 1940s the planned relocation of the regiment to Järvafältet became reality after the decision was ratified several decades previous. On 5 October 1946 the Svea Life Guards officially left their barracks at Linnégatan in

, Stockholm and this took place at a ceremony in a nearby park close to a memorial stone. The executive officer at the time, colonel Gösta von Stedingk, handed the memorial stone over to the City of Stockholm, represented by the municipal commissioner of the Stockholm Central Board of Administration (''Stadskollegium''),

Yngve Larsson Gustaf Richard ''Yngve'' Larsson (; December 13, 1881 – December 16, 1977) was a Swedish political scientist, Municipal commissioner (''Borgarråd''), and Member of Parliament. He was an important force in the urban development of Stockholm d ...

. The regiment then left Stockholm which had been its home for more than 400 years. The regiment moved again in 1947 to Sörentorp in

Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...

. The design of the place they were to occupy was carried out by the Royal Fortifications Administration, the area was given a relatively free pooled plan, and Bertil Karlén was the architect of the buildings. In 1970 Svea Life Guards moved once more, this time to a zone at Granhammar Castle in

Kungsängen Kungsängen () is a locality and the seat of Upplands-Bro Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It b ...

. From 1975 to 1984, the regiment's duties were to maintain a number of military units in the war organization and conduct war planning for these. The regiment was also responsible for Kungsängen's barracks area with associated exercise and firing range as well as to lend some support to other units in the garrison. Included in the maintenance of war units was the recruitment of officers, but also internal officer training and education of conscripts. Officer training was also carried out for other regiments to maintain the war units. The regimental staff and training units participated extensively in state ceremonial activities on behalf of the Commandant General in Stockholm and the Commandant of Stockholm. The regiment consisted mainly of a staff unit, a training unit (including a training battalion and department for management of exercises), a firing range and a support unit with subdivisions. The Swedish Armed Forces ABC-Defence School was located in Kungsängen and was included as a section of the unit. On 1 October 1984 the Life Guard Dragoons with Stockholm Defence District (K 1/Fo 44) was disbanded, and Svea Life Guards was renamed Svea Life Guards with Stockholm Defence District (I 1/Fo 44). The regiment took over the task as lower regional head of the Stockholm Defence District as well as the maintenance of cavalry troops in war organization. The regimental commander became the Commandant of Stockholm. The regiment consisted of a staff unit, a unit of territorial management, a training unit (including two training battalions) and one support unit with subdivisions. The duties of the regimental commander as the Commandant of Stockholm, notably to state ceremonial activities, were coordinated by a garrison unit located 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 ...

in Stockholm. On 1 July 1994 the Life Guard Dragoons were separated and again became an independent unit. The unit was disbanded in 2000 as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in that year's Defence Act of 2000, and then re-emerged the same year as the Life Guards (LG).

Units

The regiment came through the Defence Act of 1942 to organize two field regiments, the Svea Life Guards (IR 1) and the Stockholm Infantry Regiment (IR 31). Through the Defence Act of 1948, the field regiments were reorganized into infantry brigades. In Svea Life Guards only the field regiment Svea Life Guards was reorganized into a brigade, and Stockholm Infantry Regiment was divided between the Blue Brigade (PB 6) and the Södermanland Brigade (PB 10).

Yellow Brigade

The Yellow Brigade (''Gula brigaden'', IB 1) was raised in 1949 by reorganizing the field regiment Svea Life Guards (IR 1) into a brigade. The brigade initially became Svea Life Guard's only brigade. Through the Defence Act of 1982, the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

decided that the army's brigade organization would be reduced, thus the Yellow Brigade would be disbanded on 30 September 1984. However, the name came to be taken over by the sister brigade, the Uppland Brigade.

Life Guard Brigade

The Life Guard Brigade (''Livgardesbrigaden'', MekIB 1 ), originally Uppland Brigade (''Upplandsbrigaden'', IB 38), was raised in 1957 through the Defence Act of 1958. The background was that it was transferred from the Uppland Regiment (I 8), which was disbanded by the same Defence Act. Through the Defence Act of 1972, the brigade came to become Svea Life Guards' attack brigade, when it was adopted into the IB 77 brigade organization. On 1 October 1984, the brigade adopted the name Yellow Brigade (''Gula brigaden'', IB 1). In the early 1990s, the brigade was one of the experimental brigades for the IB 2000 brigade organization. In 1991, the name was changed to the Life Guard Brigade (''Livgardesbrigaden'', IB 1). On 1 July 1994, the Yellow Brigade (IB 1) was separated from the regiment, and became a cadre-organized war unit within the

Middle Military District Middle Military District (, Milo M) was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control over Middle Sweden, for most time of its existence corresponding to the ar ...

(Milo M), under the name Life Guard Brigade (MekIB 1). The brigade was disbanded on 30 June 2000 in connection with the Defence Act of 2000.

Life Guard Dragoons

The Life Guard Dragoons (K 1) was amalgamated into Svea Life Guards on 1 October 1984 . Through this organizational change, Svea Life Guards also took over the defence district staff for Stockholm Defence District (Fo 44) from the Life Guard Dragoons (K 1). On 1 July 1994, the Life Guard Dragoons were separated and again became an independent unit.

Stockholm Defence District

The Stockholm Defence District (Fo 44) was raised on 1 October 1942, and had its staff located in Stockholm Garrison. On 1 January 1947, parts of Norrtälje Defence District (Fo 45) were amalgamated into the defence district. On 1 July 1975, Vaxholm Defence District (Fo 46) was added, which meant that Stockholm Defence District covered the entire Stockholm County. In connection with the OLLI reform on 1 July 1975, the Stockholm Defence District was given joint staff with the Life Guard Dragoons (K 1). Through this reorganization, the defence district staff was located with the regiment at Lidingövägen. Through the Defence Act of 1982, the defence district staff was transferred to the Svea Life Guards, both organizationally and that it was located at Kungsängen with the other regiment staff. Stockholm Defence District was disbanded together with the regiment on 30 June 2000.

Companies

# Life Company # (Vacant) # Company # Company # Company # Company # Company # Company # (Vacant) # (Vacant) # Company # Company

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

The Life Guards present one regimental colour, one regimental standard and one company colour:

Colour of the Life Guards

The 1964 colour, which had been presented at the Stockholm Palace by His Majesty the King Gustaf VI Adolf. This colour was from 1 July 1994 been carried by both the Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade. A new colour was presented to the Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade on 30 April 2000 by His Majesty the King

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

at the

in connection with his birthday. It was used by the two units until the amalgamation with the Life Guard Dragoons (K 1) on 1 July 2000. The colour is also carried by the Guards Battalion of the Life Guards. The colour is drawn by Bengt Olof Kälde and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Maj-Britt Salander/company Blå Kusten.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: "On white cloth in the centre the greater coat of arms of Sweden as to the law without mantle. In each corner a royal crown proper with red lining. Battle honours (

Swedish War of Liberation Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

1521,

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

1631, Lützen 1632,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

1656, March Across the Belts 1658,

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

1676,

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

1676,

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

1677,

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

1700, Düna 1701, Kliszów 1702, Holowczyn 1708, Svensksund 1790) in yellow horizontally placed above and below the coat of arms."

Standard of the Life Guards

The standard is drawn by Bengt Olof Kälde and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Maj-Britt Salander/company Blå Kusten. The standard was presented to the then Life Guard Dragoons (K 1) at the regimental barracks in Stockholm by His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf on 4 December 1995 - the regimental memorial day of the

battle of Lund The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Denmark, Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army ...

in 1676. It was used by the regiment until the amalgamation with the Svea Life Guards on 1 July 2000. The standard is also carried by the Dragoon Battalion (''Livgardets dragonbataljon'') of the Life Guards. Blazon: "On white cloth in the centre the Swedish Royal coat-of-arms as to the law without mantle. In each corner a royal crown proper with red lining. On the reverse battle honours horizontally placed and in each corner three open crowns placed two and one (a legacy from the former Royal Life Regiment Dragoons, K 2), all yellow. White fringe."

Colour of the Life Company

The colour of the Svea Life Guards' Life company was presented in 1868 by Her Majesty the Queen Lovisa who also embroidered it by hand together with her ladies-in-waiting. Blazon: "On white cloth in the centre the Royal monogram of His Majesty the King Carl XV between three open crowns, all yellow and with red lining in the crowns. Fringe of golden threads." File:AM.010781.jpg, Life colour m/1815 of Svea Life Guards. File:AM.002451.jpg, Colour m/1868 of Svea Life Guards' Life company. File:AM.010782.jpg, Battalion colour m/1850 of 1st Battalion, Svea Life Guards. File:AM.010783.jpg, Battalion colour m/1850 of 2nd Battalion, Svea Life Guards. File:AM.090071.jpg, Guards colour of Svea Life Guards.

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Svea Life Guards (I 1) 1977–1984, the Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1984–1994 and the Life Guard Brigade (IB 1) 1994–2000.

: "Azure, the lesser

coat of arms of Sweden The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the arms of dominion of the Monarchy of Sweden, King of Sweden. It has a greater and a lesser version. The shield displays the "Three Crowns of Sweden" quartering the "Lion of Bjälbo", with an ine ...

, three open crowns or placed two and one. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire argent and surrounded by the chain of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

placed under muskets and crown". Another coat of arms was used by Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1994–2000 and has been used by the Life Guard Group (''Livgardesgruppen'') since 2000. Blazon: "Azure, lesser coat of arms of Sweden, three open crowns or placed two and one. The shield surmounted two swords in saltire argent and is surrounded by the chain of the Royal Order of the Seraphim placed under swords and crown". File:Svea Livgarde vapen.svg, Coat of the arms of the Svea Life Guards (I 1) 1977–1984, the Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1984–1994 and the Life Guard Brigade (IB 1) 1994–2000. File:Livgardesgruppen vapen.svg, Coat of arms of the Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1994–2000 and the Life Guard Group (''Livgardesgruppen'') 2000–present.

Insignias

Unlike the other infantry and armor regiments, which have a constant unit insignia, the Svea Life Guards has the Swedish monarch's monogram. File:Vapenplåt m1878.jpg,

Cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as ...

m/1878 for

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword from , itself a re-spelled version of the , a diminutive form of , meaning . In Europe, the kepi is most commonly associated with French ...

. Soldiers = brass, N.C.O's = gilt. File:AM.090984a.jpg, Unit insignia M7675-138000 m/1950-60 for Svea Life Guards (I 1). File:AM.090984b.jpg, Unit insignia M7675-138000 m/1950-60 for Svea Life Guards (I 1). File:AM.094499 (02).jpg, Unit insignia m/1960. File:AM.094499 (01).jpg, Unit insignia m/1960. File:Förbandsmärke I1.png, Shoulder sleeve insignia.

Medals

In 1921, the ''Kungliga Svea livgardes 400-åriga jubileumsmedalj i silver'' ("Royal Svea Life Guards 400-year Anniversary Medal") in silver (SLMSM) was established. This medal was established as a commemorative medal when the regiment was disbanded on 30 June 2000. In 1999, the ''Svea livgardes (I 1) och Livgardesbrigadens (IB 1) förtjänstmedalj'' ("Svea Life Guards (I 1) and Life Guard Brigade (IB 1) Medal of Merit") in gold and silver (SvealivgLivgbrigGM/SM) was established. The

medal ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

is of yellow moiré with a white stripe on each side both followed on both sides by a blue line. His Majesty the King's monogram is attached to the ribbon. In 2000, when Svea Life Guards was disbanded and the Life Guards was raised, this medal was renamed ''Livgardets (LG) förtjänstmedalj'' ("Life Guards (LG) Medal of Merit I") (LGIGM/SM). File:AM.095933.jpg, Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade Medal of Merit in gold File:Livgardets förtjänstmedalj I & Svea livgardes och Livgardesbrigadens förtjänstmedalj.svg, Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade Medal of Merit

Commanding officers

Regimental commanders and

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

s (''Sekundchef'') active at the regiment. On 11 March 1774, King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...

himself took over as commanding officer of the regiment, but left the actual command of it to the executive officer. This was subsequently done to all units within the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj:ts Liv- och Hustrupper'') which until 1974 had each an executive officer and the king as joint commander. ''Sekundchef'' was a title which was used until 31 December 1974 at the regiments that were part of the King's Life and Household Troops.

Commanding officers (1657–1774)

*1696–1706: Knut Posse *1706–1712: Carl Magnus Posse *1712–1712: Jakob Grundel *1712–1717: Gabriel Ribbing *1717–1727: Michael Törnflycht *1727–1739: Arvid Posse *1739–1744: Otto Wrangel *1744–1751: Adolf Frederick *1751–1756: Per Gustaf Pfeiff *1756–1772: Axel von Fersen *1772–1772: Carl Ehrenkrook (acting) *1772–1774:

Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten Baron Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten (10 November 1727 – 2 April 1786) was a Swedish-Finnish army officer and politician, and half-brother of Georg Magnus Sprengtporten. He is most famous as one of the leaders of the Revolution of 1772, the ''co ...

Executive officers (1774–1974)

Commanding officers (1975–2000)

*1975–1980: Colonel Bengt Selander *1980–1987: Colonel Rolf Frykhammar *1987–1992: Jan-Olof Borgén *1992–1994: Göran De Geer *1994–1997: Markku Sieppi *1997–2000: Kim Åkerman