private The Life Guards grew from the four
troops of Horse Guards (exclusively formed of
gentleman rankers until the transformation of the last two remaining troops into Regiments of Life Guards in 1788) raised by
Charles II around the time of his
restoration, plus two troops of
Horse Grenadier Guards (rank and file composed of commoners), which were raised some years later. • The
first troop was originally raised in
Bruges in 1658 as ''His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards''. They formed part of the contingent raised by the exiled King
Charles II as his contribution to the army of King
Philip IV of Spain who were fighting the French and their allies the
English Commonwealth under the
Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell in the
Franco-Spanish War and the concurrent
Anglo-Spanish War. • The
second troop was founded in 1659 as ''
Monck's Life Guards''. • The
third troop, like the first troop was formed in 1658 from exiled Royalists and was initially known as ''The
Duke of York's Troop of Horse Guards''. • The
fourth troop was raised in 1661 in England. • The
first troop of horse grenadier guards was formed in 1693 from the amalgamation of three troops of
grenadiers. • The
second troop of horse grenadier guards was raised in Scotland in 1702. These units first saw action during the
Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672 and then at the
Battle of Sedgemoor during the
Monmouth Rebellion in 1685. The 3rd and 4th troops were disbanded in 1746. while the bulk of the gentlemen-troopers were pensioned off. From 1812 to 1814, two squadrons from each of the Life Guard regiments served in the
Peninsular War. In 1815 they were part of
The Household Brigade at the
Battle of Waterloo under Major-General
Lord Edward Somerset. Elements of the Life Guards, along with the
Royal Horse Guards, formed the
Household Cavalry Composite Regiment (HCCR) for active service. The HCCR was in action in the
Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and the
Second Boer War of 1899 to 1902. The HCCR was mobilized again in 1914 at the start of the
First World War, where they formed part of the
British Expeditionary Force and fought in most of the major battles on the
Western Front. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the unit repeatedly rotated from Britain to Germany. In 1965, the unit was deployed to Asia for the first time in central
Malaysia until 1968, returning to England. Like in the past decades, the unit was stationed in West Germany and England through the early to late 1970s. During its deployments, the unit always maintained a squadron in London conducting public duties. In 1971, several squadrons were deployed to Northern Ireland during
The Troubles, and the regiment would see action there several more times through the mid-1970s. In March 1979, B Squadron was deployed to
Cyprus as part of the
United Nations Peacekeeping Force, and this would become another location that components of the unit would be deployed to. The unit provided a mounted escort for then
Charles, Prince of Wales and then
Lady Diana Spencer during their
wedding ceremony on 29 July 1981, in
London. Throughout the rest of the 1980s-1990s, its headquarters moved frequently from Germany to Britain, and in January 1984 had squadrons deployed to Cyprus as part of a UN tour. armoured vehicle of the Household Cavalry in
Helmand Province, 2011 In 1992, as part of the
Options for Change defence review, The Life Guards were joined with the
Blues and Royals in a 'Union', becoming part of the new
Household Cavalry, classified as a corps, not an amalgamation, forming the
Household Cavalry Regiment (armoured reconnaissance) and the
Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (ceremonial duties). However, both units maintain their regimental identity, with distinct uniforms and traditions, and their own
colonel. Since the union, the Household Cavalry Regiment has seen active service in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2020,
Elizabeth Godwin became the first woman to be commissioned as an officer in the Life Guards.
Previous names Names used by the regiment were as follows: • From 1788,
1st Regiment of Life Guards and
2nd Regiment of Life Guards • The following troops were reorganised into 1st Regiment of Life Guards •
1st Troop of Horse Guards •
1st Troop, Horse Grenadier Guards • and the following troops were reorganised into 2nd Regiment of Life Guards •
2nd Troop of Horse Guards •
2nd Troop (Scots), Horse Grenadier Guards • From 1877,
1st Life Guards and
2nd Life Guards • From 1922,
The Life Guards (1st and 2nd) • From 1928,
The Life Guards ==Uniform==