HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, COLONEL-IN-CHIEF, THE ROYAL LANCERS, WILL VISIT THE REGIMENT IN NORTH YORKSHIRE
Monday 22nd April 2024
The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own), will undertake her first visit to the regiment since being appointed as their colonel-in-chief. Her Majesty will address the parade before meeting serving members and old comrades. Her Majesty will view a museum exhibition, a tunic belonging to her late father Major Bruce Shand MC & Bar, and will also present five Buchan Medals.
The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own) Cambrai Lines, Munster Barracks, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire.
On arrival at Cambrai Lines, Her Majesty will be greeted by the Lord Lieutenant,
Jo Ropner, and the colonel of the regiment, Colonel Richard Charrington. Her Majesty will be received by a royal salute, inspect some of the 152 Lancers on parade and address her regiment before they conduct a march past. They will be accompanied by several past and present armoured vehicles, including the HUMBER and DINGO from the Second World War, which her late father would have commanded, as well as contemporary WARRIOR and BULLDOG vehicles.
The Queen will meet families and members of the Old Comrades Association (OCA) at a reception immediately after the parade.
Her Majesty will then visit the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess and present five Buchan Medals to serving and retired Lancers. The Buchan Medal is awarded to any serving or retired member of The Royal Lancers or its antecedents who has contributed in some conspicuous manner to the efficiency or military honour of the regiment over a protracted period.
The Queen will then proceed to the Officers’ Mess where the Commanding Officer will present Major (Retd) Phil Watson, the author of ‘Their Greatest Hour’, a book which recounts the story of 21 days during which the 12th Lancers guarded the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force’s withdraw to Dunkirk in 1940.
Her Majesty’s late father, Major Bruce Shand, then a subaltern in A Squadron, won an MC for gallantry during the battle. Her Majesty wrote the foreword to the book.
The Queen will view her father’s tunic, which is to be put on public display at the Regimental Museum in Derby, following its purchase at auction by the regiment.
Her Majesty will sign the visitors book before leaving through a guard of honour and a street-lining procession.
Her Majesty was appointed as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers on 8th June 2023. The position was formerly held by Her late Majesty, following the regiment’s formation in 2015, with the amalgamation of the Queen’s Royal Lancers and the 9th/12th Royal Lancers.
