THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY -

THE REGIMENTAL

COMMAND STRUCTURE

Links

Hereunder you will find a brief explanation
of each role in the hierarchy.

For fuller descriptions, and definitive listings,
please click on one of the following links
to take you to the appropriate page:

Colonel-in-Chief

Colonels of the Regiments & Gold Sticks

Colonel - The Life Guards

Colonel - The Blues And Royals

Commander Household Cavalry

For descriptions of the following roles
(which appear lower down the page),
please click on one of the Links:

Regimental Commanding Officers

Regimental Adjutant

Veterinary Officer & Medical Officer

Riding Master

Quartermaster

Forms of Address

Cornet, Corporal Major,
Trumpet Major,
Corporal Of Horse . . .

To learn about Officer
and Soldier Ranks and Insignia

Click Here

Colonel-in-Chief

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is
Colonel-in-Chief of The Household Cavalry.

Since 1821 the Colonels-in-Chief have,
by tradition, been the reigning Monarch.

Her Majesty appoints the
Colonels of each Regiment.
The Colonels additionally hold the
title of Gold Stick-in-Waiting,
and they officiate alternately
on a monthly roster system.

The duties of this appointment
are to protect The Sovereign,
which principally involves attending
Her Majesty on Ceremonial Occasions.

The Queen passes any orders,
relating to the Household Cavalry,
to Gold Stick who refers them to the
Silver Stick-in-Waiting for action.

Colonel of
The Life Guards

General The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank
is Colonel of The Life Guards,
and carries the appointment
of Gold Stick-in-Waiting.

Colonel of
The Blues And Royals

HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal
is Colonel of The Blues And Royals,
and carries the appointment
of Gold Stick-in-Waiting.

Commander Household Cavalry

Both Regiments are overall commanded by
an Officer who usually holds the rank of
Colonel in the Army. He must be qualified
to become a Guards General.

It is customary, in the Household Cavalry,
to continue to call this Officer by his original title of
'Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Household Cavalry'.

He also holds the appointment Silver Stick-in-Waiting,
and deputises for the Gold Stick-in-Waiting, in the
event of the latter being absent from
any State Occasions or functions.

The Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding
Household Cavalry is responsible to the
Major-General Commanding the Household Division,
and in that respect the Regiments and Squadrons
(or detachments of Regiments) - wherever
stationed - maintain the traditions, customs
and privileges of the Household Cavalry.

Each Regiment is individually commanded by an Officer
holding the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Officer Commanding

HCR

Windsor and
Active Service

Officer Commanding

HCMR

Knightsbridge
Barracks

The Household Cavalry Regiment is based
at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, and is
an Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment.

The barracks also houses an Equitation School,
where initial training is provided for soldiers
destined for the Mounted Regiment.

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment
is based at Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge,
in London, and as part of the Household Division,
plays a major role in State and ceremonial
functions throughout the year.

Regimental Adjutant

The Regimental Adjutant is the Staff Officer of
the Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding Household Cavalry,
and is normally found from the opposite Regiment
to the latter.

He is also Silver Stick Adjutant, and
accompanies the Silver Stick-in-Waiting
on Ceremonial Occasions.

Veterinary Officer

One Veterinary Officer is
appointed to the Household
Cavalry Regiment, for which
he wears the uniform of the
Regiment to which he is assigned
(The Life Guards, or
The Blues And Royals).

He advises the Commanding
Officer on all veterinary
matters, and is responsible
for horses in both Knightsbridge
and Windsor. His tour of
duty is not usually specified.

Medical Officer

A specially selected
Medical Officer serves with the
Household Cavalry Regiment,
and he also wears the uniform
of the Regiment to which he is assigned.

The Medical Officer's
appointment is made by the
Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel, who
consults with the Medical Directorate
before reaching his decision.
Tour of duty not usually specified.

Riding Master

Major R (Dickie) Waygood, Riding Master

A similar selection procedure exists for the
Riding Master - usually commissioned from the ranks,
having been a suitable Warrant Officer within
the ranks of Riding Instructors.

The duration of the Riding Master's service
in this appointment is determined by the
Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel and, once appointed,
the Riding Master is immediately responsible to
the Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry
Regiment for the training of recruits and remounts
(a unique appointment in today's army).

Quartermaster

The Quartermaster is appointed by the
Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel, so becoming known
as Silver Stick Quartermaster - along with the
Medical Officer he has the responsibility for
the sanitary conditions of all the
Household Cavalry's accommodation in London.

A Quartermaster may be commissioned from the ranks.

Forms of Address

It is traditional, in the Household Cavalry, for
Officers and Soldiers to address Lieutenant-Colonels
and above by their rank, instead of "Sir".

All Warrant Officers Class I are referred to as "Mister".

Officers address Warrant Officers Class II, and
Squadron Quartermaster Corporals, as "Corporal-Major"
- other personnel by their rank and name.

Soldiers of junior rank address Warrant Officers
and Squadron Quartermaster Corporals as "Sir"
- and other Non-Commissioned Officers as "Corporal".

In The Blues And Royals, the most junior
Officer rank (equivalent to 2nd Lieutenant)
is known as "Cornet".

Another unique custom within The Blues And Royals
is that soldiers may salute with the hand - in the
usual manner - even when no headdress is worn
(a tradition dating back to 1760).