List of Regiments of Cavalry of the British Army

For infantry regiments, see List of Regiments of Foot.
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This is a list of numbered Regiments of Cavalry of the British Army from the mid-18th century until 1922 when various amalgamations were implemented. The Life Guards were formed following the end of the English Civil War as troops of Life Guards between 1658 and 1659.[1] Regiments were subsequently raised as part of the response to (i) the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 (ii) the Jacobite rising in 1715 (iii) the Seven Years' War in 1759 and (iv) the Indian Rebellion in 1858.[2]

The designation "dragoon guards" was introduced in 1746 to recognise the importance of some of the most senior regiments, who rode large strong horses, without actually increasing their pay.[3] The more junior regiments, who rode lighter horses, were designated "dragoons" at that time, although some of them were subsequently re-designated "lancers" or "hussars".[3]

The full list is as follows:[4]

Household cavalry:

Number Title Formed Fate Successor 2018
1 1st Regiment of Life Guards 1658 (as troops of life guards)[5] 1922: Life Guards Life Guards
2 2nd Regiment of Life Guards 1659 (as troops of life guards)[6] 1922: Life Guards Life Guards
3 Royal Horse Guards 1661 (reformed on the Royal establishment)[7] 1969: Blues and Royals Blues and Royals

Heavy cavalry

Number Title Formed Fate Successor 2018
1 1st King's Dragoon Guards 1685[8] 1959: 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
2 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) 1685[9] 1959: 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
3 3rd (Prince Of Wales's) Dragoon Guards 1685[10] 1922: 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
4 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards 1685[11] 1922: 4th/7th Dragoon Guards Royal Dragoon Guards
5 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards 1685[12] 1922: 5th/6th Dragoons Royal Dragoon Guards
6 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) 1685[13] 1922: 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
7 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards 1688[14] 1922: 4th/7th Dragoon Guards Royal Dragoon Guards

Light cavalry:

Number Title Formed Fate Successor 2018
1 1st The Royal Dragoons 1661[15] 1969: Blues and Royals Blues and Royals
2 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) 1678[16] 1971: Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
3 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars 1685[17] 1958: Queen's Own Hussars Queen's Royal Hussars
4 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars 1685[18] 1958: Queen's Royal Irish Hussars Queen's Royal Hussars
5 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers 1689[19][a] 1922: 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers Royal Lancers
6 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons 1689[20] 1922: 5th/6th Dragoons Royal Dragoon Guards
7 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars 1689[21] 1958: Queen's Own Hussars Queen's Royal Hussars
8 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars 1693[22] 1958: Queen's Royal Irish Hussars Queen's Royal Hussars
9 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers 1715[23] 1960: 9th/12th Royal Lancers Royal Lancers
10 10th (Prince Of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars 1715[24] 1969: Royal Hussars King's Royal Hussars
11 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars 1715[25] 1969: Royal Hussars King's Royal Hussars
12 12th (Prince Of Wales's Royal) Lancers 1715[26] 1960: 9th/12th Royal Lancers Royal Lancers
13 13th Hussars 1715[27] 1922: 13th/18th Royal Hussars Light Dragoons
14 14th (King's) Hussars 1715[28] 1922: 14th/20th King's Hussars King's Royal Hussars
15 15th (The King's) Hussars 1759[29] 1922: 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars Light Dragoons
16 16th (Queen's) Lancers 1759[30] 1922: 16th/5th Lancers Royal Lancers
17 17th (Duke Of Cambridge's Own) Lancers 1759[31] 1922: 17th/21st Lancers Royal Lancers
18 18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars 1759[32][b] 1922: 13th/18th Royal Hussars Light Dragoons
19 19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars 1858[33] 1922: 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars Light Dragoons
20 20th Hussars 1858[34] 1922: 14th/20th King's Hussars King's Royal Hussars
21 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers 1858[2] 1922: 17th/21st Lancers Royal Lancers

Notes

  1. ^ disbanded in 1799; reformed in 1858
  2. ^ disbanded in 1821; reformed in 1858

References

  1. ^ "The Horse Guards". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b "21st Lancers". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007.
  3. ^ a b "1685 to 1899 - A Short History of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards". 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  4. ^ "British Cavalry Regiments". Warpath. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. ^ "1st Life Guards". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ "2nd Life Guards". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "1st King's Dragoon Guards". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2006. Retrieved 26 July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  10. ^ "3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  11. ^ "4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ "5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  13. ^ "6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ "7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  15. ^ The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons), regiments.org, 2007, archived from the original on 3 March 2007, retrieved 5 April 2007
  16. ^ "Royal Scots Greys". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ^ "3rd The King's Own Hussars". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ "4th Queen's Own Hussars". regiments.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  19. ^ "5th Royal Irish Lancers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ "The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  21. ^ "7th Queen's Own Hussars". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  22. ^ "8th King's Royal Irish Hussars". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^ "9th Queen's Royal Lancers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 14 January 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ "10th Hussars". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ^ "11th Hussars". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. ^ "12th Royal Lancers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 28 October 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  27. ^ "13th Hussars". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  28. ^ "14th King's Hussars". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  29. ^ "15th The King's Hussars". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  30. ^ "16th The Queen's Lancers". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  31. ^ "17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  32. ^ "18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. ^ "19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008., regiments.org
  34. ^ "20th Hussars". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007.