Recently seen in London, via the Ministry of Defence, HQ Household Troops:
In a series of stunning photos which could have been taken at the turn of the 20th century, the horses and riders of the Queen’s Birthday Parade showed off their movements and equestrian skills as they paraded around Horse Guards for their Mounted Review this morning.
Over 350 horses drawn from The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery conducted the same movements they will do at Trooping the Colour, just without those on foot to distract them (or the horses), to enable them to focus on the timings and commands required for the historic day.
In their khaki No.2 Service Dress, they looked like they could be off to the front lines of the First World War with the WWI-era QWF 13-pounder guns drawn by the King’s Troop just adding to the effect.
Save for the helmets, it could pass for the early 1900s. The men in the background are from the Blues and Royals. The Blues and Royals wear blue tunics while on ceremonial duties and metal helmets with red plumes. The Life Guards, seen in the foreground, wear scarlet tunics and white plumed helmets.
Almost like one of those old uniform plates, showing a variety of officers milling around posing for the artist. Note the Life Guards on the left, and Blues & Royals to the right. The Royal Horse Artillery is at the caissons and an assortment of guards officers, including two in bearskins, are in the center.
All you are missing is a Kitchener poster
When is the last time you saw a full squadron’s worth of horse-mounted cavalry on parade, with four classic troops in formation? This evokes memories of the Sudan, the Crimea, or even Waterloo. Besides headquarters and training cadres, the Blues and Royals, taking up the rear as they are “younger” consist of a half-strength horse-mounted saber squadron that contains two “divisions” which are troop-sized (one subaltern and 24 troopers) while the more senior Life Guards have the same strength. Of course, as you see, the entire combined force is still just the size of a Great War-era squadron of four troops. All told, the force is termed the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR), authorized at 341 members and 250 horses.