The Regency was a short period but its military dress was spectacular. Here is what Prince George's officers wore.
Quick answer. The Regency period strictly runs 1811 to 1820, when George, Prince of Wales, served as Regent for his incapacitated father. During this time British military dress was the Napoleonic pattern: scarlet coatee with regimental facings, Belgic shako, hussar dress for light cavalry, cuirass and helmet for Household Cavalry. The Prince Regent was personally invested in military dress and encouraged elaborate uniforms. The style became known as Regency uniform even though it extended slightly before and after the strict date range.
The Prince Regent's influence
Prince George, later George IV, was obsessed with military dress. He designed uniforms himself, patronised individual regiments and spent enormous sums on his own wardrobe. The 10th Royal Hussars, raised in 1783, was his personal regiment and received repeated redesigns of its uniform. The Prince Regent believed military dress should be beautiful as well as practical, which led to the elaboration of hussar and cavalry patterns during the 1810s. His influence lingered after his accession as George IV and shaped British military dress for the next twenty years.
Infantry of the line
British line infantry during the Regency wore the scarlet coatee with regimental facings, white or buff waistcoat, white or grey pantaloons with gaiters, and the Belgic shako (introduced 1812). The pattern was essentially the Waterloo infantryman as described in our British Napoleonic article. Facings varied by regiment and lace patterns identified individual units. The regular army was then at its peak strength and reputation, having fought from Portugal to Belgium.
Guards and Household troops
The Foot Guards (1st Grenadier, Coldstream, 3rd Scots) wore scarlet coatee with blue facings. By 1815 the Grenadier Guards had adopted the bearskin, taken as spoil from the French Imperial Guard at Waterloo. The Household Cavalry (Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards) wore scarlet or blue tunics with brass helmet and horsehair plume. Both corps were dramatically dressed and formed the ceremonial escort for the Prince Regent and the royal family.
Hussar regiments
The four hussar regiments (7th, 10th, 15th, 18th) were the most elaborately dressed British formations of the Regency. Full dress: short dolman with gold or silver braid, matching pelisse with fur edging, Hungarian breeches, Hessian boots, fur busby with regimental coloured bag. The 10th Royal Hussars under the Prince Regent's patronage received perhaps the most elaborate uniform in the British Army. Hussar dress was imitated across civilian society: Regency gentlemen wore versions of the dolman at private balls, and theatrical productions used hussar patterns on stage.
The militia and volunteer forces
Alongside the regular army, Britain maintained a vast militia and volunteer force during the Napoleonic Wars. Militia regiments wore scarlet coatees similar to the regulars but often with distinctive facings. Volunteer units, raised locally, wore an enormous variety of uniforms: dark blue, grey, green, red, with facings in every imaginable colour. The volunteer movement produced some of the most striking uniform plates of the period and contributed to the Regency sense of military colour as a national virtue.
The end of the war and reform
After Waterloo the British Army shrank from 240,000 to about 100,000 men. Many regiments were disbanded or amalgamated. Uniforms were adapted to peacetime economies. The regulations of 1816, 1821 and 1829 progressively modified the Regency pattern toward the simpler double breasted tunic of the early Victorian era. By 1830 the Regency uniform was gone, though its influence persisted in formal dress and in literary memory. The military dress of Jane Austen's and Byron's England was a specific and short lived moment.
Common questions
What dates define the Regency?
Strictly 1811 to 1820, when George, Prince of Wales, acted as Regent for his incapacitated father. The broader Regency era (used in culture and dress) runs roughly 1795 to 1830.
What was the Prince Regent's own regiment?
The 10th Royal Hussars. He redesigned their uniform repeatedly through his life.
What is a Belgic shako?
The British infantry shako issued from 1812 with a tall front plate and a plume on the left side. Also called the Waterloo shako.
Did civilian men wear military inspired dress?
Yes. Regency civilian coats, Hessian boots and pantaloons were all borrowed from military dress. The dandy style of Beau Brummell drew heavily on military tailoring.
Can I buy a replica Regency uniform?
Yes. Specialist tailors build full Regency pattern coats, hussar dress and other period uniforms for reenactment, theatrical and private use.