The Guardia Mora has its origins in the early stages of the
Spanish Civil War. In July 1936 as Military Commander of the
Canary Islands, General
Francisco Franco managed to fly to
Spanish Morocco, where he took control of the
Spanish Army of Africa, consisting mainly of Moroccan
Regulares and
Spanish Legion units. These professional troops were transported to Spain and began to advance towards Madrid. Already in October 1936, when he was appointed head of state during an official ceremony in Burgos, Franco attended the event accompanied by an escort formed by Moroccan horsemen from the existing Regulares cavalry regiments. Thereafter, Franco frequently appeared on public occasions flanked by a large escort of Moroccan cavalry in "Moorish" ceremonial uniforms and carrying
lances. The British historian Paul Preston has pointed out that the Guardia Mora became a symbol in itself and the best example of the new power that was being built around the figure of Franco. After the end of the Civil War, the Moroccan units of the Army of Africa were either disbanded or returned to continue serving in Spanish Morocco. However a picked cavalry unit remained on the peninsula, serving as mounted guards, performing escort and other ceremonial functions and providing protection for the Head of State. When Franco moved his official residence to Madrid, the Guardia Mora followed him, and once established in the capital they came to have a permanent quartering in the
Palace of El Pardo, official residence of the "
generalissimo." . September 1939 From 1939 onward the responsibilities of the Guardia Mora in Madrid were expanded to include ceremonial functions such as the provision of escorts for visiting Heads of State and for foreign ambassadors presenting their credentials. The Guardia Mora was dissolved in 1956, after the incorporation of Spanish Morocco into the newly independent
Kingdom of Morocco The mounted Guard itself continued to serve with Spanish personnel only, under the title of "Guardia de Franco". Upon Franco’s death and the ascension of
King Juan Carlos I as the
head of state, the guard regiment formed the basis of the "Regiment of the Royal Guard" (
Regimiento de la Guardia Real); the modern day
Guardia Real. ==See also==