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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.
Two regiments of foot guards exist in the Canadian Army's Primary Reserve, the Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) and the Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG). The two foot guards, along with the Governor General's Horse Guards, form Canada's Household Division. Although the GGFG has its buttons in pairs, compared to the single buttons of the CGG, it is the more senior regiment. The paired buttons on the GGFG's scarlet tunic is a result of its historical alliance to the British Coldstream Guards, whose tunics are styled similarly.
The Canadian Guards was another regiment of foot guards from the Canadian Army's Regular Force, although it was reduced to nil strength and placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle in 1970. Its colours are deposited at Rideau Hall should it be desired to stand up the regiment again.
The Royal Regiment of Canada, despite being a line infantry regiment, wears foot guards full-dress uniform. This is in token of the alliance its predecessor The Royal Grenadiers had with the Grenadier Guards. The full-dress uniform has a scarlet-over-white plume, and buttons are worn singly in like manner.
| Regiment | Plume | Button grouping | Badge | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Colour | Collar | Shoulder | ||
| Governor General's Foot Guards | Left | Scarlet | Pairs | GGFG guards star | Maple leaf |
| Canadian Grenadier Guards | Left | White | Singly | Grenade | Grenade |
| Canadian Guards (reduced to nil strength) | Left | Red and white | Singly | Crowned maple branch | Crowned maple branch |
The foot guards of Denmark consists of the Royal Life Guards (Den Kongelige Livgarde). It is primarily a mechanized infantry regiment in the Danish Army, with the Guard Company of the regiment performing guard/ceremonial public duties for the Danish monarchy. They provide a permanent guard at the Amalienborg Palace, as well as mount at guard at Fredensborg Palace, Marselisborg Palace, Gråsten Palace, and Christiansborg Palace on occasion.
The regiment is currently composed of 4 active duty units:
1st Battalion
2nd Battalion
Guard Company 
Royal Life Guard Music Band 
The Guard Jaeger Regiment (Finnish: Kaartin Jääkärirykmentti, Swedish: Gardesjägarregementet) is a Finnish Army unit located in Santahamina, an island district of Helsinki. The regiment trains Guard jaegers for fighting in an urban environment. The Nyland Guard Battalion's two Military Police companies of the Guard Jaeger Regiment provide the ceremonial guard of honour for the President of Finland.
The first infantry regiment of the Republican Guard is responsible for protecting the President of France and for ceremonial duties. Other historical French foot guard regiments include:
The Wachbataillon perform ceremonial guard duty for various branches of the German government. It is currently the largest battalion in the Bundeswehr, having up to 1,000 soldiers based in Berlin. The battalion follows the tradition of the 1. Foot Guard Regiment (1. Garde-Rgt. z.F.).
The President's Bodyguard regiment of the Indian Army the Republican Guard responsible for protecting the President of India on ceremonial occasions.
The foot guards functions in the Italian Army are held by the Granatieri di Sardegna Brigade, direct heir of the original Guards' Regiment founded on April 18, 1659. The brigade's two regiments of guards infantry have a highly distinguished combat history and are still employed both in ceremonial and combat roles. The 3rd regiment serves as combat support.
The Carabinieri (the militarised gendarmerie-type law enforcement agency of Italy) also fields a ceremonial guards unit – the Reggimento Corazzieri ("Cuirassiers Regiment"), based in Rome, which carries its ceremonial role both on foot and on horseback at the Quirinal Palace – the official residence of the President of Italy. It is more compatible to a dragoons regiment while being more of a cuirassier unit due to its uniform.
Russia's Presidential Regiment (also known as the Kremlin Regiment), although not a part of the Russian Armed Forces but part of the Russian Federal Protective Service, which directly reports to the President of Russia, is the elite unit that provides the guard of honor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Moscow's Alexander Garden and is tasked with the protection of the President, his family and the Kremlin complex. When in the Kremlin itself (at Cathedral Square) or at Red Square, during important occasions and weekends, it maintains certain traditions of the Russian Imperial Guard through its uniforms and rifle and cavalry drills during the weekly Changing of the Guard ceremony together with the regimental band, Infantry units and the Cavalry Escort Squadron. The regiment, since the mid-2010s, has also provided sentries at the Spasskaya Tower entrance facing Red Square. In the future, the regiment will be reinforced by the Semyonovsky Regiment (reestablished in 2013), which falls under the Armed Forces and is currently the sole independent regiment of infantry in the Russian Ground Forces. The 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment, being a part of the Armed Forces, thus only performs honor guard duties only during state visits to Russia, wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the major parades in Moscow (May 9 and November 7, respectively), as well as in major anniversary parades all over Russia if needed.
Spain's Guardia Real is one of the oldest bodyguard units in the world. On top of protecting the king and deploying overseas, they also perform ceremonial duties. The regiment primarily provide protection to members of Spanish royal family, as well as royal households such as the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Palace of El Pardo and the Palace of Zarzuela. Its origins come from the Monteros de Espinosa , which is the oldest royal bodyguard unit on the European continent. Its organizational structure is based around five battalion-sized units including the High Command Group, Escorts Group, Honors Group, Logistics Group, and the Musical Unit of the Spanish Royal Guard
The Royal Guard Honors Group is the principal foot guards unit of the Armed Forces, which provides ceremonial and actual security to the royal family. Permanently garrisoned in Madrid, the capital city, the battalion-sized formation is organized into:
The other foot guards regiment of the armed forces is the Spanish Army's Infantry Regiment "Inmemorial del Rey" No. 1 stationed in the Army Headquarters, Buenavista Palace, Madrid. It is one of the oldest standing guards units in the world, raised by King Ferdinand III of Castile in 1248. Traditionally, as the regiment is linked to the Spanish royal family and to the sovereign in his/her duty as Captain General and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, all the princes of Asturias since 1862 are enrolled as honorary soldiers in the 1st Guards Company. The duty of Foot Guards is the responsibility of the Honor Guard Battalion "Old Guard of Castille", which is part of the regiment and organized into:
The Royal Guards is responsible for protection of the Swedish Royal Family. They are made up of the Life Guards. The Royal Guard has been responsible for providing security to Stockholm Palace since 1523. It is the primary honour guard detail for the king as well as an emergency unit for the capital. The guard is split up into two sections, the guard at Stockholm Palace, and a smaller detachment stationed at Drottningholm Palace. The Royal Guards are most visible at state arrival ceremonies for visiting heads of state visiting Sweden, where it mounts the guard of honour. It performs the changing of the guard ceremony at the Outer Courtyard of the palace, drawing approximately 800,000 tourists per year. The foot guards component is made up of three foot guards companies that fall under the King's Guards Battalion, all performing public duties alongside their combat and security roles. In addition, the 12th Motorized Infantry Battalion (raised 2016) is also designated foot guards, but only performs combat operations.
The Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Brigade is a special military unit of Ukrainian Armed Forces which is mandated to defend the President of Ukraine in his duty as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the First Family, and the presidential residences and facilities assigned to the presidential office. With its Honor Guard Battalion providing ceremonial guard duty for official events.
The brigade was raised in 1992 as a National Guard infantry regiment and was transferred to the AFU in 2000.
The Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six active regiments of foot guards and one reserve regiment, five of which still exist. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a reserve [1] formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900 to 1901. The Machine Gun Guards, which was formed during the First World War, was disbanded in 1920.
While these regiments have other distinguishing features, a simple method of distinguishing members of the different Guards units by their appearance is by the spacing of buttons on the tunic. The ascending number of buttons also indicates the order in which the regiments were formed, although the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, an ancestor of the Grenadier Guards, is younger than the regiment that now takes the name of the Coldstream Guards, the oldest continuously serving regiment in the regular British Army (there are older regiments in the Army Reserve). There are various other distinguishing features of the uniforms of the regiments, such as the colour of the plume, which side it is worn on the bearskin, the collar badge and the shoulder badge. When all five regiments parade together, they are in the order of Grenadier Guards on the right flank, then Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Irish Guards and Coldstream Guards on the left flank. This is because although the Coldstream are ranked second in seniority, their motto is "Nulli Secundus" ('Second to None').
The five regiments of Foot Guards, lined up as they parade:
| Regiment | Plume | Button grouping | Badge | Officer pips | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Colour | Collar | Shoulder | |||
| Grenadier Guards | Left | White | Singly | Grenade | Royal Cypher | Garter Star |
| Scots Guards | — | Threes | Thistle | Thistle Star | Thistle Star | |
| Welsh Guards | Left | White-green-white | Fives | Leek | Leek | Garter Star |
| Irish Guards | Right | Blue | Fours | Shamrock | St Patrick Star | St Patrick Star |
| Coldstream Guards | Right | Red | Pairs | Garter Star | Rose | Garter Star |
The first four regiments each have separate incremental companies, which keep custody of the colours and maintain the customs and traditions of the currently dormant 2nd Battalions. These companies perform ceremonial and security duties in London.
One battalion is appointed for public duties, along with the incremental companies, it provides the King's Guard, the Tower of London Guard and the Windsor Castle Guard. The Guards Battalions on Public Duties are located in barracks close to Buckingham Palace for them to be able to reach the Palace very quickly in an emergency. The independent incremental companies of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards are permanently based at Wellington Barracks, Westminster, which is located just 300 yards from Buckingham Palace. A battalion is based at Victoria Barracks, Windsor, a quarter of a mile south of the Castle.
The Guards Division received a new battalion following the restructuring of the army in 2004, when the London Regiment became the first reserve army unit in this division. The regiment was subsequently disbanded, and its personnel moved to reserve companies of the four senior foot guards regiments.
The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was in existence during the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1901. The Guards Machine Gun Regiment was raised for service during the First World War. Initially, each brigade of the Guards Division had a machine gun company attached. In 1917, these companies were regimented to form a battalion. Further battalions (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions) were formed by conversion of the Household Cavalry regiments. King George V ordered that the regiment be classified as the Sixth Regiment of Foot Guards, or Machine Gun Guards. However, it was disbanded in 1920.
Before the Second World War, Guards recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) tall. They initially enlisted for seven years with the colours and a further five years with the reserve or four years and eight years. They trained at the Guards' Depot in Caterham, Surrey. [2]
The United States has ceremonial units for each of the six branches of the Armed Forces with one unit serving two branches. They form honor guards for the President, foreign heads of state, and other military and civilian dignitaries. They form the core military element of state-level ceremonies including the Inauguration of the President and state funerals. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Old Guard", is the Army's escort/ceremonial guard to the President, and their units include the Tomb Guards for the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington national cemetery.
The State Defense Force of Connecticut has a battalion of the Governor's Foot Guard, a part-time unit that provides ceremonial functions organized into two guards infantry companies. It consists of four different units of an organized militia in the Connecticut State Militia, two of which are foot guards and the other two being horse guard units.
The Royal Guards of Hawaii is a ceremonial foot guard unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard which acts as the honour guard for the Governor of Hawaii. It re-enacts 19th century royal bodyguards of King Kalakaua in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Their uniform includes a pith Helmet, and white dress pants. When on parade, the 50-member royal guard carries the Springfield 45-70 rifle.
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, inheritor of the traditions and lineage of the legendary 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, is a foot guards regiment of the Massachusetts Army National Guard that serves as the official ceremonial guards of honor for the Governor of Massachusetts.
Many other nations have regiments of foot guards in their armies, as the term 'guards' is an honorific to distinguish elite soldiers. Most monarchies have at least one regiment of guards, part of whose duties is to guard the Royal Family.The same goes for most republics; for instance:
Other countries that have Guards Units
The unit military bands of these guards hold senior positions within the armed forces of their home country. These bands, often internationally known informally as Guards Bands have included the following:
A grenadier was historically an explosives engineering 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 grenadiers were recruited from among the strongest and largest soldiers. By the 18th century, the grenadier dedicated to throwing hand grenades had become a less necessary specialist, yet in battle, the grenadiers were the physically robust soldiers who led vanguard assaults, such as storming fortifications in the course of siege warfare.
The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49 infantry battalions, from 19 regiments. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the Regular army and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, including armoured, mechanised, air assault and light.
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonial occasions. The Regiment has consistently provided formations on deployments around the world and has fought in the majority of the major conflicts in which the British Army has been engaged.
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 Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG) is a reserve infantry regiment in the 34 Canadian Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division, of the Canadian Army. The regiment is the oldest and second-most-senior infantry regiment in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army. Located in Montreal, its main role is the provision of combat-ready light infantry troops in support of Canadian regular infantry. It is a Household Foot Guard regiment and also provides soldiers for public ceremonial duties, performing similar ceremonial duties as the Guards regiments of the British Army. This primarily entails mounting the guard at Government House, the Governor General's residence, and performing the "Changing the Guard" ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, a task it shares with Canada's senior Household Foot Guard regiment, the Governor General's Foot Guards of Ottawa. The Canadian Grenadier Guards is an allied regiment to the British Grenadier Guards.
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.
The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere. The regiment is a major unit of the Military District of Washington (MDW). The 3rd Infantry is the oldest regiment still active in the Regular Army, having been first organized as the First American Regiment in 1784. It has been the official ceremonial unit of the U.S. Army since 1948.
The Guards Division was an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division was responsible for providing two battalions for public duties to London District ; although the guards are most associated with ceremony, they are nevertheless operational infantry battalions, and as such perform all the various roles of infantry. In 2022, the Guards Division was renamed as the Guards and Parachute Division.
The Canadian Guards was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 1953, by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the Chief of the General Staff of the Canadian Army, with the redesignation of four separate battalions:
Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role.
London District (LONDIST) is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing the Greater London area. It was established in 1870 as Home District.
The British Army primarily divides its infantry into regiments, which are subdivided into battalions. However, for various reasons, since the end of the Second World War it has also maintained companies that are intended to provide increments and reinforcements.
A guard of honour, honor guard 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 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 assigned to undertake guard of honour postings or 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.
This is the Operation Herrick ground order of battle, which lists any British ground forces that have taken part in the duration of Operation Herrick between 2002 and 2014.
The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.
The London Guards is an administrative formation within the British Army comprising the reserve companies of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Irish Guards. On formation these companies drew their personnel from the London Regiment and it traces its history back to the formation of that regiment in 1908 when 26 separate Volunteer Force battalions were brought together. The London Guards is not a regiment, the companies wear the uniform, and follow the traditions, of their foot guards regiment.
The Guards and Parachute Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the Parachute Regiment. The division is responsible for providing two battalions for public duties to London District ; although the guards are most associated with ceremony, they are nevertheless operational infantry battalions, and as such perform all the various roles of infantry.
