A short tour of the British regiments entitled to call themselves Royal, and the dress uniforms they still wear.
Quick answer. Royal regiments in the British Army are those awarded the Royal prefix by sovereign for distinguished service. They include the Household Cavalry (Life Guards and Blues and Royals), the five Foot Guards regiments (Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, Welsh), the Royal Dragoon Guards, the Royal Lancers, the Royal Hussars (now King's Royal Hussars), the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Royal Welsh and others. Each wears a distinctive full dress uniform.
Household Cavalry
The Life Guards (raised 1660) wear scarlet tunics with blue facings, brass helmet with white horsehair plume, white breeches and jack boots to the thigh. The Blues and Royals (1969 amalgamation of Royal Horse Guards and Royal Dragoons) wear dark blue tunics with scarlet facings, brass helmet with red plume. Both wear the cuirass for state dress on major occasions. Together they form the Sovereign's mounted bodyguard and provide the sentries at Horse Guards.
The Foot Guards
The five regiments of Foot Guards wear scarlet tunics with the bearskin cap. Identification between regiments is by the pattern of buttons on the tunic and plume on the bearskin. Grenadier Guards: buttons in singles, white plume on the left. Coldstream: buttons in pairs, red plume on the right. Scots Guards: buttons in threes, no plume. Irish Guards: buttons in fours, blue plume on the right. Welsh Guards: buttons in fives, white and green plume on the left. The system allows an observer to identify any Foot Guard regiment at close range.
Royal Dragoon Guards
Formed in 1992 from the amalgamation of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Full dress is scarlet tunic with light blue facings, brass helmet with black horsehair crest. The regiment's lineage includes the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (which separately preserves the Scots Greys tradition and parades on grey horses in Edinburgh). Both regiments trace their histories to the English Civil War.
Royal Lancers
Formed in 2015 from the amalgamation of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers and the Queen's Royal Lancers. Full dress: dark blue tunic with crimson plastron, dark blue overalls with double white stripe, czapka with white plume. The czapka remains one of the most recognisable headpieces in British military dress, preserved from the Polish lancer tradition imported in the 1800s.
King's Royal Hussars
The successor regiment to the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) and the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars. Lineage includes the famous 10th, 11th (Cherrypickers), 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 20th and other hussar regiments. Full dress: blue dolman with gold braid, crimson overalls (preserved from the 11th), fur busby with crimson bag. The regiment's dress uniform remains one of the most striking in the British Army today.
Royal Regiment of Scotland
Formed in 2006 from the amalgamation of the Scottish infantry regiments. Full dress is a scarlet doublet with blue facings, kilt in the government tartan (Black Watch pattern) worn by all battalions, blue feather bonnet with regimental hackle (red for 3 SCOTS, black for 1 SCOTS, and so on). The regimental hackle preserves the identity of the predecessor regiments. Pipers wear the traditional pipe banner.
The Royal Welsh and Royal Irish
The Royal Welsh (formed 2006 from the Royal Regiment of Wales and the Royal Welch Fusiliers) wears scarlet tunic with blue facings and the famous five black ribbons at the back of the collar (the Flash), a privilege granted in 1900. The Royal Irish Regiment (formed 1992) wears the caubeen (Irish beret), with a hackle of regimental colour. Both regiments carry centuries of lineage into their modern dress uniforms.
Common questions
What makes a regiment Royal?
The Royal prefix is awarded by the sovereign in recognition of distinguished service. It is a mark of honour that typically means the regiment has close links to the monarchy or has performed particularly well on campaign.
Why do the Foot Guards wear bearskins?
The bearskin was taken from the French Imperial Guard Grenadiers after Waterloo and awarded to the Grenadier Guards. The other Foot Guards followed. The current bearskin is made of Canadian black bear fur.
Can anyone wear a Royal regiment's uniform?
No. Specific regimental dress is restricted to serving and former members of that regiment. Civilians commission inspired uniforms with similar but not identical details.
Where can I see Royal regimental dress?
Horse Guards (Household Cavalry), Buckingham Palace (Foot Guards), Edinburgh Castle (Royal Regiment of Scotland), and Trooping the Colour each June in London. Also at individual regimental museums.
How do you tell Foot Guards apart?
By the pattern of buttons on the tunic (singles for Grenadiers, pairs for Coldstream, threes for Scots, fours for Irish, fives for Welsh) and by the plume on the bearskin.