The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by
Geoff Hoon and
General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the
infantry, when it was initially to be known as the King's Lancashire and Border Regiment. The regiment was given its new name in November 2005. Initially formed of three regular army
battalions, it was eventually reduced to two regular battalions, plus an
Army Reserve battalion. The regiment was formed through the merger of three single battalion regiments: •
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment •
The King's Regiment •
The Queen's Lancashire Regiment The regiment was formed on 1 July 2006. Initially, on formation, the regiment contained three regular battalions, with each battalion simply being renamed: • 1st Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment – '''1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment''' • 1st Battalion, King's Regiment – '''2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment''' • 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Border Regiment – '''3rd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment''' In March 2007, the 3rd Battalion was disbanded, with its personnel dispersed to the other two, leaving the final roll of two regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. In 2012, a Kenyan mother and alleged prostitute called
Agnes Wanjiru was allegedly murdered by soldiers of the Duke of Lancaster Regiment, with the murder reportedly covered up by British Army officials. The
Sunday Times said a fellow soldier had gone to the “proper people” immediately after hearing a squaddie confess to the killing, but said he was told to “shut up” when he reported it and no action was taken. Ms Wanjiru's body was not discovered until two months later, after the regiment had returned to the UK. Defence Secretary
Ben Wallace denied that the British military had covered-up Wanjiru's murder, but admitted guilt to and expressed concern over the Army hierarchy turning a "blind eye" to the use of prostitutes by personnel, especially within “countries in poverty”. In 2021, screenshots of a private Facebook group chat allegedly run by soldiers of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment were published across British newspapers. The screenshots reportedly showed the regiment's soldiers joking and laughing at memes mocking the murder of Agnes Wanjiru. The leaking of the secret chats apparently mocking the murder sparked a reinvestigation into the case by Kenyan police. In 2022, UK armed forces introduced a ban on the use of sex workers abroad for the first time. Personnel found to have engaged in what the Ministry of Defence describes as “transactional sex” face the prospect of dismissal – and they could also be prosecuted if in countries where prostitution is illegal. In December 2021, the regiment's 2nd Battalion re-subordinated to the
Ranger Regiment, as its 3rd Battalion. In 2021 a
colour sergeant from 4th Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment was fined and dismissed for lifting the skirt of a Kenyan woman, whom he knew, in a shopping mall in
Nanyuki while intoxicated. A British Army spokesperson described the colour sergeant's conduct as disgraceful and said;"This was appalling behaviour from the senior non-commissioned officer."
Deployments Soldiers from the regiment's 4th Battalion have served alongside their regular army counterparts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cyprus. In recent years, deployments have included Denmark, Italy, Australia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Kenya, Lithuania, the Baltics, Poland, the Balkans and Georgia.
Sports In May 2023, 4LANCS won the 2022-2023 Army Football Reserve Challenge Cup against
6SCOTS in a 2–1 victory at Aldershot. LANCS’ captain Cpl Kiel Brennan was awarded the Player of the Match. Also in May, personnel from 1 LANCS took part in the
IRONMAN70.3 Venice-Jesolo Triathlon. All five Triathletes from the 1 LANCS Triathlon club completed the 1.9 km Swim, 90 km Bike & 21 km Run course. ==Regimental structure==