The Queen presents new colours to the Scots Guards
Thursday 18th May 2017
Her Majesty The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief, will present new colours to the 1st Battalion and F Company Scots Guards in the Garden at Buckingham Palace on Thursday 18th May. The Queen will be accompanied by The Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Regiment.
The Scots Guards has a longstanding reputation as a tough fighting infantry force. The Regiment also has a proud history of service to the Sovereign in times of war and peace, be it on operations or as part of ceremonial roles such as Changing the Guard and Trooping the Colour.
Her Majesty’s association with the Scots Guards dates back to her Coronation, when she became Colonel-in-Chief. The Queen first presented new colours to the Scots Guards at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 1965 and last presented new colours in 2002, in the year of her Golden Jubilee.
The Queen’s arrival on the West Terrace will be announced by a Royal Salute, followed by the National Anthem. Her Majesty will inspect the Regiment, present new colours and address the parade, which will conclude with three cheers and a march past.
Following the parade, Her Majesty will meet a representative group of the Scots Guards Family and sit for a Regimental photograph with the new colours. The Duke of Kent will meet serving and retired soldiers and families at the Regimental Garden Party to follow the parade.
The 1st Battalion Scots Guards is based in Aldershot, Hampshire. As the Mechanised Infantry Battalion of the Guards Division it is held at high readiness and permanently assigned to 12th (Armoured Infantry) Brigade within 3rd (UK) Division. In this role they continue the traditions of the famous Guards Armoured Division. The 1st Battalion will remain in the Mechanised Infantry role and will soon move to Catterick. There it will be equipped with a new eight-wheeled mechanised infantry vehicle and pioneer the new Strike Brigade role which will be a mainstay of the future Army design.
F Company Scots Guards was set up in 1993 when the 2nd battalion Scots Guards was placed into suspended animation as a result of Army reforms. It is responsible for maintaining the traditions of the Scots Guards and all new guardsmen complete several months in F Company Scots Guards undertaking Public Duties whilst continuing to train as a fully deployable light role infantry company.
Colours are the Regimental Flags of the British Army. They were originally used as rallying points on the battlefield as long ago as the Kings of Babylon. They were vital because without modern communications, it was all too easy for troops to become disorientated by the fog of war. From the reign of Queen Anne every regiment was awarded two colours: the Queen’s Colour and the Regimental Colour.
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