HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY MUSEUM – HORSE GUARDS
Life Guards and Blues & Royals - London
Household Guard duty must be an extraordinary honor and a curious experience in in discipline and human interaction. Visiting London’s Whitehall between Westminster and Trafalgar Square, one will invariably find a crowd of tourists gathered at the gate of the Horse Guards where a young man sits astride a horse in gleaming breastplate and plumed helmet, in practiced stillness while people fawn over his horse and pose for pictures. He is a member of the Queen’s Life Guards, the British Army regiment of Household Cavalry whose job is to guard the royal person. But step beyond the young man and through the gate and you can discover the story of the mounted guards at the Household Cavalry Museum.
The history of the Household Cavalry traces back to the Restoration of the English monarchy with the crowning of Charles II in 1660, with the king’s Life Guards regiment formed the following year in 1661. One suspects that the king was feeling a little exposed after what happened to his predecessor under the round heads. The original guards were formed exclusively by members of the gentry to engender loyalty, but in modern times are more egalitarian. Formed of two regiments the Life Guards and the Blue and Royals, they perform to missions. Their most visible role is guarding Her Majesty the Queen as a mounted horse regiment, in daily parade ceremonies and formal presence. They also have an active military role serving recently in Afghanistan and Iraq in armored fighting vehicles as a reconnaissance and cavalry unit, the Queen’s Mounted Guard, as well as serving in peace keeping and humanitarian missions.
The Household Cavalry Museum covers the 350 year proud history of the regiments with a unique collection of ceremonial uniforms, royal standards and awards of gallantry as well as musical instruments used in ceremonies and a collection of Fabergé silverware and plate. Part of the exhibit is presented in the horse stables where life on the stalls can be experienced, with a chance to play dress-up in the uniforms and helmets, but this is also a “living” museum, with a window looking into the behind the scenes of a working stable where the guards groom their mounts, and polish their kit between the changing of the guard ceremonies which form their daily work. What’s on view will change entirely throughout the day. In the museum, multi-media touchscreens offer first hand stories of what the training of these soldiers is like and the techniques which must be mastered for managing horses in the precisions of their duties and the grueling preparations of regimental inspections.
The Horse Guards Building separates Whitehall and the Horse Guards Parade ground which was formerly the site of the medieval tilting yard of the Westminster Royal Palace. The original building from 1664 was replaced by the present Palladian style structure in 1753. The building was headquarters of the British Army Commander in Chief until 1904 and is the formal ceremonial entrance to St James Palace through the park. Officially, only the British monarch is allowed to drive through the arch, though tourists walk through it all the time.
Visiting the Household Cavalry Museum
The museum is open daily 10am to 6 pm April to October and 10am to 5pm from November to March. Admission is £7 for adults, Children 5 to 16, Seniors, Students and Active Service is £5. A Family Ticket for two adults and three children is £18. Special activities for kids are offered on a changing seasonal schedule. A gift shop offers a number of gifts and unique souvenirs. The Changing of the Queen’s Life Guard takes place every day on Horse Guards Parade behind the building at 11am (10am Sundays). The Daily Inspection takes place at 4pm in the Front Yard of Whitehall. The Horse Guard at the gate changes every hour, so that young fellow can take off the stiff face. © Bargain
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Household Cavalry
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted. Photos courtesy London Helicopter.
SEE ALSO:
TOWER OF LONDON
THE QUEEN'S GALLERY AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
HMS BELFAST WAR SHIP MUSEUM LONDON
