| The King's Royal Hussars | |
|---|---|
Cap badge of the King's Royal Hussars |
|
| Active | 4 December 1992- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Cavalry |
| Role | Armoured |
| Size | One regiment |
| Part of | Royal Armoured Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ (North) - Preston RHQ (South) - Winchester Regiment - Tidworth |
| March | Quick - The King's Royal Hussars Slow - Coburg Other - The Eagle |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-in-Chief | HRH The Princess Royal |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Colonel DJB Woodd[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash | |
| Arm Badge | Crossed Kukris From 14th/20th King's Hussars |
| Abbreviation | KRH |
The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and was formed on 4 December 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments:
The regiment currently serves in the armoured role, equipped with Challenger 2 tanks, and is based in Tidworth, Wiltshire. Until recently Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster served as an officer in the regiment.
The regiment is organised into a total of five squadrons, each of which perpetuates the title of one of its antecedent regiments:
C Squadron traditionally is the senior squadron of the King's Royal Hussars in perpetuation of the honour accorded to C Squadron the 11th Hussars in Egypt.[2]
Contents |
The regiment wears crimson trousers when in ceremonial, No1 or No2 dress, and (for officers and NCOs) mess dress. They may also appear in shirt sleeve order as worn by officers, including those on secondment to the regiment from other units.[3] This distinctive feature, which is unique in the British Army, derives from the honour accorded to the 11th Hussars by Prince Albert, the future consort of Queen Victoria. The regiment, then based at Canterbury, formed the escort for the Prince from his arrival at Dover en route to his wedding in London. The Prince was so impressed with the bearing and turnout of the troops that he ordered that they should henceforth wear his livery as a mark of distinction.[4]
The regiment wears a unique brown beret. This practice began when the 11th Hussars were mechanized in 1928. It was found that the traditional forage cap with a peak was inconvenient when peering through an armoured sight, so it was decided to adopt a beret. It is believed that the brown colour was selected by the then quartermaster's wife as a practical choice for working with dirty, oily vehicles, rather than nice, clean horses. The beret was originally worn without a cap badge but with a broad crimson band. This band is represented today by the crimson patch backing the cap badge.[5] Since 2003 the Royal Wessex Yeomanry has also worn the brown beret.
The KRH wear the crossed kukri of the Gurkhas as an arm badge. This relates back to 1945 when C Squadron, 14th/20th King's Hussars assaulted the town of Medicina in Italy alongside the 2nd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles, inflicting heavy losses on the German defenders despite being outnumbered. In commemoration of this action the 14/20 adopted the crossed kukri badge, a tradition maintained by the KRH.
| Preceded by 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) |
Cavalry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by The Light Dragoons |
|
|||||||