Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback. While their use goes back to the late 16th century, dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the 17th and early 18th centuries; they provided greater mobility than regular infantry but were far less expensive than cavalry.
Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is also known as the Sovereign's Birthday Parade. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, it is, with the State Opening of Parliament, one of the biggest events of the ceremonial calendar, and watched by millions on TV and on the streets of London.
In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. Foot guards are commonly responsible for guarding royal families or other state leaders, and they also often perform ceremonial duties accordingly, but at the same time are combat soldiers.
The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals. These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment stationed at Wing Barracks in Wiltshire and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks in London. The Household Cavalry is part of the Household Division and is the King's official bodyguard. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment is armoured, it is not part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate and precisely choreographed. They originated with peacetime and battlefield military drills introduced to enhance unit cohesion and effectiveness in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The King's Guard are sentry postings at Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, organised by the British Army's Household Division. The Household Division also mounts sentry postings at Horse Guards, known as the King's Life Guard.
The Life Guards is a combined Swedish Army cavalry/infantry regiment. Its responsibilities include the defence of Stockholm as well as provision of the royal guard of honour for the King of Sweden and the Stockholm Palace. With traditions dating from 1521, the regiment is one of the oldest military units in continuous operational existence in the world. It was established in its present form in July 2000, following a merger of the Svea Life Guards and the Life Guard Dragoons. Headquarters are mainly located in Brunna north of Kungsängen in Upplands-Bro Municipality and at the "Cavalry Barracks 1" in central Stockholm.
A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal family member, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular armed forces, or are designated as such, and may maintain special rights or privileges.
The Government Palace, also known as the House of Pizarro, is the seat of the executive branch of the Peruvian government, and the official residence of the president of Peru. The palace is a stately government building, occupying the northern side of the Plaza Mayor in Peru's capital city, Lima. Set on the Rímac River, the palace occupies the site of a very large huaca that incorporated a shrine to Taulichusco, the last kuraka of Lima.
Horse Guards is a historic building in the City of Westminster, London, between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade. It was built in the mid-18th century, replacing an earlier building, as a barracks and stables for the Household Cavalry. It was, between the early 18th century and 1858, the main military headquarters for the British Empire. Horse Guards originally formed the entrance to the Palace of Whitehall and later St James's Palace; for that reason it is still ceremonially defended by the King's Life Guard.
In Japan, the Imperial Guard is the name for two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the Imperial guard divisions, a quasi-independent elite branch of the Imperial Japanese Army which was dissolved shortly after World War II. The second is the Imperial Guard Headquarters, a civilian law enforcement organization formed as part of the National Police Agency. (警察庁)
The Gold Stick and the Silver Stick are formal bodyguard positions in the British Royal Household, personal attendants to the sovereign on ceremonial occasions.
Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army tasked primarily with ceremonial duties. Part of the Household Division, it is classed as a regiment of guards, and carries out mounted ceremonial duties on State and Royal occasions. The HCMR is one of two operational units that form the Household Cavalry (HCav), the other being the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR), a formation reconnaissance regiment, with front-line combat duties.
A protective security unit typically provides policing, security, intelligence and bodyguard services for sovereigns and politicians. It can be contrasted with a security service, which provide protective security intelligence such as the British Security Service; and a guards regiment for the defence of the Sovereign and the metropolis. Examples of these include the Household Division.
The Field Officer in Brigade Waiting holds an appointment in the Royal Household. He performs his duties at State Ceremonies under the authority of the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Lord Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal. When dismounted he carries a distinctive baton as his insignia of office.
A guard of honour (GB), also honor guard (US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, especially funerals. In military weddings, especially those of commissioned officers, a guard, composed usually of service members of the same branch, form the sabre arch. In principle, any military unit could act as a guard of honour. However, in some countries certain units are specially designated to serve as a guard of honour, as well as other public duties. Republican Guards, Royal Guards and foot guards frequently have ceremonial duties assigned to them.
The Royal Guard is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish royal family. It currently has a strength of 1,500 troops. While the Guard participates in parades and other ceremonial events, it is a fully functional combat unit. Its members are recruited from the ranks of all three branches of the Spanish Armed Forces and receive the same combat training as regular soldiers.
The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, from the large Royal Household that supports the sovereign to the household of the Prince and Princess of Wales, with fewer members.
The Royal Security Command is the king of Thailand's military household and is part of Thailand's royal court administration. It exercises command and control over the military units that are engaged full-time in the protection and guarding of the king and his family as well as the various Royal palaces of Thailand.
