- Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
caption=Badge of the Gentlemen-at-Arms
dates=1509-
country=England
branch=
role=Royal Bodyguard
type=Dismounted bodyguard
size=
command_structure=Sovereign's Bodyguard
current_commander=
garrison=London
ceremonial_chief=HM The Queen
ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
colonel_of_the_regiment=The Baroness Royall, PC
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=Captain
nickname=
motto=
colors=
identification_symbol=Portcullis
identification_symbol_label=Collar Badge
identification_symbol_2=White
identification_symbol_2_label=Plume
march=
mascot=
battles=Guinegate, Boulogne
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch.
Formation
The corps was formed as the Troop of Gentlemen in 1509 by King Henry VIII to act as a mounted escort, armed with
spear andlance to protect the sovereign, in battle or elsewhere. They were present at theField of Cloth of Gold in 1520. In 1526, they became a dismounted bodyguard armed with battleaxes. They last saw service in battle during theEnglish Civil War (during which a Gentleman Matthews saved the Prince of Wales at theBattle of Edgehill (1642) from one of the Earl of Essex's troopers). They were always intended as a primarily ceremonial unit, but were on regular duty until the 19th century.Duties
Today, the duties are purely ceremonial - the Gentlemen attend the Sovereign at various ceremonies, including state visits by Heads of State, the
State Opening of Parliament and the ceremonies of the various orders of chivalry, including theOrder of the Garter . The Gentlemen now parade for theState Opening of Parliament ,state visit s, Royal Garden Parties, theGarter service ,Diplomatic Corps receptions, royal weddings,coronation s, theInvestiture of thePrince of Wales , andlying in state . They also have three mess dinners annually.Officers and administration
The Corps today consists of five Officers (the Captain, the
Lieutenant , theStandard Bearer , the Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant and theHarbinger ) and 27 Gentlemen. The senior Officer is the Captain, a political appointee who is now always the GovernmentChief Whip in theHouse of Lords . The senior permanent officer is the Lieutenant. The Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant issues all orders to the Corps. The Harbinger runs theMess and assists the Clerk. The Mess, atSt. James's Palace , is run by a permanentAxekeeper and Butler. All Officers (except the Captain) must have served in the Corps prior to promotion to officer rank.Membership and age limits
All subordinate officers, and all Gentlemen, must be under the age of 55 years on joining, and are on average 52. The Gentlemen retain their prior military ranks (currently most rank between
major andcolonel ). They must retire at 70 years, thus giving an average age of approximately 61 years.Although all Gentlemen are retired officers, uniquely one recent member was also a
clergyman .Colonel theReverend "Dick" Whittington, MBE joined the Corps in 1999 after retiring from the Corps ofRoyal Engineers . He had beenordained adeacon in 1993 and apriest in 1994.Uniform
The uniform is that of a Dragoon Guards officer of the 1840s. It has a skirted red coat with Garter blue
velvet cuffs and facings embroidered with the Tudor royal badge of theportcullis . Helmets with whiteswan feather plumes are worn when on duty, even in church. Officers wear, in addition, goldaiguillette s, and carry sticks of office -gold for the Captain,silver for the Lieutenant, Standard Bearer and Clerk of the Cheque, andivory for the Harbinger - which they receive from the Sovereign on appointment.Cavalry sword s are worn, and long ceremonial battle-axes, over 300 years old, are carried by all the Gentlemen.Battle honours
* 1513 Guinegate
* 1520Field of Cloth of Gold ref|1
* 1544 Boulogne:"Honours in bold are displayed on the corps' standard." The Field of Cloth of Gold was not actually a battle, but is listed by the Corps as a battle honourExternal links
* [http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5006.asp The Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.