With the loss of life of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III was instantly made sovereign of the UK. With that change got here title modifications all around the former commonwealth, together with the army models who guard the royal residences. What was as soon as the Queen’s Guard and the Queen’s Life Guards is now the King’s Guard and King’s Life Guards.
Their duties are nonetheless the identical, regardless of the title change, and their significance to the British Army requires the identical degree of coaching, self-discipline and willpower that earned them their large hats within the first place.
The British Army’s Family Division contains the King’s Life Guards, a cavalry contingent and the King’s Guard, made up of infantry. These models have been guarding the royal houses for the reason that reign of King Charles II in 1649. Though their uniforms are largely ceremonial, all of them have historic significance – together with these huge bearskin hats rising 18 inches from the tops of their heads.
The Guards come from certainly one of 5 regiments of foot models, the Grenadier Guards, The Irish Guards, The Scots Guards, The Welsh Guards, and the Coldstream Guards. The latter, the Coldstream Guards, is the oldest serving unit within the British army, energetic since 1650, however the Guards have solely been carrying these imposing hats since 1815. The reason being due to the French, not the English themselves.
The French Imperial Guard was created by Napoleon Bonaparte to be essentially the most elite troopers within the French Army, and have been positioned immediately underneath his command. They weren’t solely the perfect, they have been his private guard and essentially the most fearsome unit within the French Army. He not often despatched them into fight, however when he did, they have been typically the distinction between victory and defeat. One of many defining traits of the Imperial Guards’ uniform have been their 18-inch tall bearskin hats.
Napoleon was very cautious about how he despatched the Imperial Guard into battle, however on the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, he dedicated them into fight, all 18,000 of them. On the time of the battle, the Imperial Guard was nonetheless undefeated and so they have been going into the Duke of Wellington’s uncovered heart. Napoleon himself directed the deployment. At first, issues went Napoleon’s method, however the British quickly broke the Imperial Guard’s assault, and despatched them working from the battlefield.
The French Army wouldn’t get better from the battlefield setback. Napoleon would lose the Battle of Waterloo, retreat into France and would ultimately be deposed and exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the course of the Atlantic Ocean. To have fun the victory over the French and the Emperor’s vaunted Imperial Guard, it’s stated the British troopers took the Guards’ bearskin hats, which then had a white plume.
The British dipped the plumes within the blood of the fallen Frenchmen, which is why the British Royal Guards’ plumes are actually pink in shade. Finally, the hat was adopted by the 5 regiments of foot that now guard the King’s palace, a historic coda to the legends surrounding Britain’s most well-known adversary.
Though it’d appear to be an unlikely uniform merchandise, the troops who put on the caps say it’s really ethereal and comfy. Referred to as “caps” by the King’s Guard, they’re cinched to a skullcap utilizing the hat’s chinstrap, making it a decent match. They’re product of a single bearskin from a Canadian black bear, stretched over a basket-like body. Not a nasty search for one thing with a lot historical past connected to it.
