|
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Cap Badge |
Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment
Published
Friday 18th March 2005
The Princess of Wales's Royal
Regiment (PWRR) is the senior English infantry regiment of The Line. It was
formed on 9th September 1992 with the amalgamation of the Queen's Regiment
and The Royal Hampshire Regiment. It is the Infantry County Regiment of
London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Middlesex, Isle of Wight and the
Channel Islands.
The Princess of Wales's Royal
Regiment traces its history back to 1572 when Queen Elizabeth I reviewed the
Trained Bands of London. The Regiment's precedence in the British Army dates
from the raising of the 2nd of Foot in 1661 for the defence of Tangier
acquired by King Charles II on his marriage to Princess Catherine of
Braganza. The nickname "The Tigers" comes from the 67th Foot (South
Hampshire Regiment). Having served 21 years unbroken service in India, under
active service conditions, King George IV authorised the Tiger sleeve badge
in 1826.
The forebear regiments of The
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment fought in nearly all the major campaigns
and wars in which the British Army was engaged. They have won 57 Victoria Crosses, including that awarded to
Pte Beharry, and Lt Col Wilson, the only
other living VC from the regiment.
The PWRR have two regular
Battalions, one territorial Battalion and two territorial cap badged
companies
-
The First Battalion is part
of 20 Armoured Brigade, based in Paderborn (Germany). The unit is an
Armoured Infantry unit, equipped with Warrior Infantry Fighting
Vehicles.
-
The Second Battalion is
based in Tern Hill, Shropshire and is part of the newly formed 2nd
Infantry Brigade. As part of the regular roulemont of troops the
Battalion is currently deployed to Iraq. One company is at Al Mmuthanna
and the rest are at Shaibah Logistics Base.
-
The Third Battalion is the
Territorial Army battalion of the Regiment. The Companies of the
battalion are based in Surrey (Farnham and Camberley - A Company), Kent
(Canterbury and Dover - C and HQ Company), Sussex (Brighton and Worthing
- B Company) and two other cap-badged companies in Portsmouth (Royal
Rifle Volunteers) and Edgeware (The London Regiment).
The Regimental Badge is a
composition of the badges of the forebear regiments. The Dragon was awarded
to The Buffs, in recognition of their Tudor origin, by Queen Anne, probably
in 1707. It was a rare distinction for a Regiment to be honoured like this
in those days, and is one of the earliest known Regimental Badges. Below the
Tudor Dragon is The Hampshire Rose as worn by the Trained Bands of
Hampshire, who fought so gallantly for King Henry V at Agincourt in 1415.
The surrounding device inscribed
with the motto: 'Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense' (Evil to those who evil
think) is a garter, as awarded to the Knights of the Order of the Garter.
This is England's oldest Order of Chivalry, founded by King Edward III in
1348. The garter is taken from the badge of the Royal Sussex Regiment and
the Officers' badge of The Royal Hampshire Regiment. The feathers above the
Tudor Dragon are the Ostrich plumes worn by The Black Prince at the Battle
of Crecy in 1346. The 15th Prince of Wales considered the East Middlesex
Regiment to be deserving of his plumes for its exploits in India. The award
was given the King's approval in 1810 and was subsequently included in the
badge of the Middlesex Regiment.
The Regimental Headquarters are
at:
Howe Barracks,
Canterbury,
Kent. CT1 1JY
The Colonel-in-Chief is Her
Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and the Colonel of the Regiment is
Brigadier Holmes CBE TD JP, a well known academic and TV presenter.
Related
links:
The Ministry of Defence is not responsible
for the content of external internet sites.
|
