History
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was formed on 9 September 1992 by the amalgamation of the Queen's Regiment and the Royal Hampshire Regiment and holds the earliest battle honour in the British Army (Tangier 1662–80). [1] Through its ancestry via the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) (2nd Regiment of Foot), the PWRR is the most senior English line infantry regiment. The current regiment was named in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales. [2]
Upon its creation, the Princess of Wales [3] and the Queen of Denmark [4] were Allied Colonels-in-Chief of the PWRR. When the Princess divorced the Prince of Wales, she resigned as Colonel-in-chief and the Queen of Denmark was appointed its Colonel-in-Chief. [4]
The 1st Battalion served a seven-month tour of Iraq in 2004 with a second tour following in 2006, and finally a tour in 2009 where the battalion was split between Afghanistan and Iraq (last combat operation in Iraq). Many of the operations carried out by the battalion during the first tour were named after stations on the London Underground. [5] Elements of 1 PWRR helped train the Iraqi National Army and oversaw the withdrawal of UK Forces from Basra. [6] 1st Battalion was deployed to Afghanistan again in August 2011 to form the nucleus of the Police Mentoring Advisory Group (PMAG) with individual companies detached to other battlegroups around Helmand province. [7] During this time in Afghanistan, 1st Battalion would also achieve the most recent case in history of a successful bayonet charge, when Corporal Sean Jones lead a successful charge during an ambush in the village of Kakaran, for which he was award the military cross. [8] [9] The 1st Battalion under Army 2020 will move from Paderborn, Germany to be stationed at Bulford Camp. [10] [11] [12]
The regiment's 2nd Battalion were based in Shackleton Barracks, Northern Ireland, the last resident battalion deployed in this role under Operation Banner. After two years at Alexander Barracks in Dhekelia in Cyprus, they moved to Woolwich Garrison, London, to take up a public duties role in August 2010, a role they performed for three years. [13] 2nd Battalion deployed to Cyprus again in 2014. [14] It remains one of the infantry units rotating between the UK and British Forces Cyprus. [15] In August 2017, the battalion returned to the UK, based at Kendrew Barracks in Cottesmore, where they reconfigured two companies into a Light Mechanised Infantry force. [16]
The regiment's 2nd battalion re-subordinated to the Ranger Regiment on 1 December 2021. [17]
In October 2023, 200 soldiers from the 1st Battalion were deployed to northern Kosovo following increased tensions and the build-up of Serbian military in the region. [18]
The Queen of Denmark served as the Colonel-in-Chief until her abdication on 14 January 2024. A new Colonel-in-Chief has not yet been appointed. [19]
Since August 2024, the 1st Battalion has been based at Episkopi Garrison, replacing the 1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment as the Regional Standby Battalion. [20]
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 Welsh Guards, part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. Shortly after the regiment's formation, it was deployed to France where it took part in the fighting on the Western Front until the end of the war in November 1918. During the inter-war years, the regiment undertook garrison duties in the United Kingdom, except between 1929 and 1930 when it deployed to Egypt, and late 1939 when it deployed to Gibraltar.
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patricia of Connaught, daughter of the then-Governor General of Canada. The regiment is composed of three battalions, for a total of 2,000 soldiers. The PPCLI is the main lodger unit of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton in Alberta and CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and attached to 3rd Canadian Division; as such, it serves as the "local" regular infantry regiment for much of Western Canada. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (LER), a Reserve Force battalion, is affiliated with the PPCLI but is not formally part of it. As part of this affiliation, the LER carries the designation '4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry'.
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an armoured infantry battalion based in Tidworth, Wiltshire, and the 5th Battalion, part of the Army Reserve, recruits in the traditional fusilier recruiting areas across England. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was largely unaffected by the infantry reforms that were announced in December 2004, but under the Army 2020 reduction in the size of the Army, the 2nd Battalion was merged into the first in 2014.
The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (QRH) is a British armoured regiment. It was formed on 1 September 1993 from the amalgamation of the Queen's Own Hussars and the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars. The regiment and its antecedents have been awarded 172 Battle Honours and eight Victoria Crosses. The regiment was based in Sennelager, Germany, until 2019 when it was relocated to Tidworth Camp, England. It is the armoured regiment for 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team.
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The title of Duke of Lancaster merged with the Crown on the accession of Henry V in 1413 and remains dormant, subject to any future revival. Customarily, however, the Sovereign is referred to as the Duke of Lancaster within Lancashire and in relation to the Duchy of Lancaster, and is the regiment's Colonel in Chief. The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is the county regiment for Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and the Isle of Man, and as such, recruits mainly from these areas.
The Royal Welsh is an armoured infantry regiment of the British Army. It was established in 2006 from the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Wales.
The Royal Yorkshire Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence review. The regiment's recruitment area covers the ceremonial counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire; areas near Barnsley are recruitment area for the Rifles.
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regiments now operating in the British Army, and can trace its history back to 1685. The regiment was the first of the large infantry regiments and is one of the three regiments of the Queen's Division.
The Royal Irish Regiment is a light infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was founded in 1992 through the amalgamation of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment. Their oldest predecessor, the 27th Regiment of Foot, was first raised in June 1689 to fight in the Williamite War in Ireland. Other notable regiments in their lineage include the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Irish Fusiliers.
The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the army, with 10 battalions, however these were reduced to just six, and later five battalions. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Options for Change reform was published and the regiment amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army which existed from 1959 to 1966. In 1966, it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment to form the Queen's Regiment, which later merged with the Royal Hampshire Regiment in September 1992 to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1961 to 1966. Its lineage is continued by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division. Since formation, the regiment has been involved in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.
The Queen's Division is a British Army training and administrative apparatus for infantry regiments from the East & South of England, and Gibraltar.
The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the senior and only current Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an individual regiment. However, three regular battalions maintain their former regimental pipes and drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments.
The 11th Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is transitioning to the tactical recce-strike role. The brigade was formerly the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade, providing training and guidance for foreign militaries.
The London Guards is a 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.
United Kingdom 
British Army 
