THE PRINCESS OF WALES TO VISIT 1ST THE QUEEN’S DRAGOON GUARDS
Swanton Morley
Wednesday 8th November 2023
The Princess of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, will visit the regiment for the first time on Wednesday 8th November.
The Princess was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG) by His Majesty The King in August this year. This visit will allow Her Royal Highness to receive a brief introduction into the regiment and the operations they carry out, as well as meet families of QDG who live nearby.
The QDG have been active for over 300 years, having been formed in 1959 from the amalgamation of the two senior Cavalry regiments, 1st King’s Dragoon Guards and The Queen’s Bays. The QDG specialise in reconnaissance: the art of seeking out the enemy and understanding how they operate.
Since their formation, the QDG have moved all over the world and most recently, from June 2021 to June 2022, were deployed to Mali as part of a peacekeeping operation in support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission.
During the visit, Her Royal Highness will receive a brief on the regiment from senior officers and will have the opportunity to experience elements of what operational life is like for servicemen and women. This will include learning about the Jackal 2 high mobility weapons platform, seeing how the team communicate via radios when deployed, and how they utilise reconnaissance drones.
Following this, the Princess will meet families of QDG personnel to hear about their experiences and the welfare support that is offered by the regiment. Her Royal Highness will also award Long Service & Good Conduct medals to a number of servicemen and women in the regiment, and ahead of Remembrance Sunday, will take a moment with serving personnel to remember those that the QDG have lost in active service in recent years.
Finally, the Princess will promote the Regimental Mascot (Trooper ‘Longface’ Emrys Jones, a Bay Welsh Mountain Pony) from ‘Lance Corporal’ to ‘Corporal’.
