Guardians of the Monarch Quiz | Military Matters

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Yeomen of the Guard is the oldest organised military unit in the United Kingdom, and forms part of the Sovereign's Bodyguard. The unit made its first official appearance attending the coronation of which monarch?

Answer: Henry VII

King Henry VII gained his throne through his victory at the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485. Although he had a group of armed retainers that served as his close protection on the battlefield, his tenuous grip on power led to him forming a dedicated body of men to serve as his personal guards in peace and war.

The "Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard" was formed and made its first public appearance at the King's coronation on 30 October 1485. The Yeomen of the Guard has served every sovereign since, including in battle as recently as the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743, but its most famous duty today is to search the cellars of the Houses of Parliament before the State Opening, which commemorates the discovery of Guy Fawkes and thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

2. The Gentlemen-at-Arms is the smallest of the three elements of the Sovereign's Bodyguard. Although most of its members are former officers from the Army or the Royal Marines, its senior officer is a political appointment who also holds which position in the government?

Answer: Chief Whip in the House of Lords

The Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms was originally founded by King Henry VIII in 1509 as a mounted bodyguard, with its members being the younger sons of the noblest families, intended to serve the King as his 'nearest guard'. It became a dismounted unit in 1526, and last served in battle during the English Civil Wars.

Although the position of Captain of the corps was always a political appointment, it was from 1945 onwards that the position was regularly taken by the government's Chief Whip in the House of Lords.

3. The Royal Company of Archers serves as the bodyguard for Scotland, but, unlike the other elements of the Sovereign's Bodyguard, is not a military unit, but is instead officially a private archery club. It was appointed as a royal bodyguard following King George IV's visit to which Scottish city?

Answer: Edinburgh

In 1822, George IV made the first visit of a reigning British monarch to Scotland since Charles II. During this visit, the Royal Company of Archers, which had originally been formed in 1676 by Jacobites under the pretext of being a private club for the practice of archery, but was ostensibly a military force, provided the King with personal bodyguards.

In recognition of this, following the end of the visit, George IV appointed the company to be the sovereign's personal bodyguard in Scotland. However, it remains an archery club, awarding twenty-two annual prizes for shooting, the most prestigious being the Queen's Prize, which is awarded to the winner by the Queen each year at the Royal Garden Party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

4. The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the Household Cavalry, and the senior regiment in the British Army. It traces its history back to the formation of different troops of mounted soldiers. Half of the units that eventually went to make up the regiment were regular cavalry, and were termed as "Horse Guards", but the other half were trained to use a specific type of weapon, and were termed as what?

Answer: Grenadier Guards

The modern Life Guards was formed in 1922 when the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Life Guards were amalgamated. These two regiments were formed in 1788 by the amalgamation of individual troops - the 1st Regiment was the amalgamation of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, with the 2nd Regiment likewise formed from the 2nd Troops of Horse and Horse Grenadiers. Today, the Life Guards, although still existing in name, is no longer an independent regiment; in 1992, it was joined with the Blues and Royals into a single Household Cavalry Regiment, with the two retaining their separate identities.

5. True or False: The Blues and Royals, the junior regiment of the Household Cavalry, is the only regiment in the British Army descended from the New Model Army.

Answer: False

The Blues and Royals was formed in 1969 through the amalgamation of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, who were known as "The Blues", and the 1st Royal Dragoons ("The Royals"). The Blues and Royals trace their lineage back to the New Model Army in 1650, when the regiment that became The Blues was formed.

Although it was disbanded in 1660 following the restoration of Charles II, the regiment was re-raised to help quell the Venner Riots. Following this service it was, along with George Monck's regiment of foot (which eventually became the Coldstream Guards), incorporated into the new English Army in service of the Crown with the Earl of Oxford as its colonel.

The 1st Royal Dragoons was originally raised in 1661 with veterans of the Parliamentary Army to serve as part of the English garrison in Tangier. From this, it was eventually ranked as the senior regiment of line cavalry, with it being the oldest serving line cavalry regiment.

6. The Grenadier Guards is the senior regiment of infantry in the British Army, with a history dating back to the exile of King Charles II. However, the regiment gained its name only relatively recently through its actions in which battle?

Answer: Waterloo

The First Regiment of Guards was originally formed in Bruges in 1656 during the exile of Charles II as his senior regiment of foot guards. In 1815, the regiment was part of the Duke of Wellington's army fighting against Napoleon during the Hundred Days. On 18 June at Waterloo, the regiment went into action against the elite Grenadiers of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, with the French defeated.

In recognition of the regiment's achievement, the Prince Regent, in the name of King George III, ordered that the First Guards be renamed as the First, or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, adopting the grenade as its cap badge.

7. The Coldstream Guards, although ranked second in order of precedence, has the longest history of the five regiments of foot guards, tracing its descent back to 1650. In 1661 it was commissioned into royal service as part of King Charles II's army as "The Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guards", but who was the Lord General in question?

Answer: George Monck

The regiment that eventually became the Coldstream Guards was founded in August 1650 by General George Monck as part of the New Model Army, and took part in the Battle of Dunbar that saw the final defeat of Charles II before his flight into exile. However, Monck and his regiment played a major part in the ultimate restoration of the monarchy in 1660, marching from its garrison in Coldstream to secure London. Upon the restoration of the monarchy, the regiment was due to be disbanded alongside the rest of the New Model, but was instrumental in quelling the rebellion of the Fifth Monarchists in early 1661.

As a result, although Monck's Regiment was officially disbanded, it was immediately recommissioned into the army as a regiment of foot guards, ranked in seniority behind those regiments of guards that had returned with Charles II from exile.

However, the regiment has never referred to itself as the "Second Regiment of Guards", as it is older than the Grenadier Guards - in 1670, upon the death of Monck, it adopted as its name the "Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards", with its motto being "Nulli Secundus" ("Second to None").

8. The Scots Guards is ranked as the third regiment of guards, having been made part of the English Army in 1686, although its history goes back forty years previous to this. In 1831, King William IV changed the regiment's name from simply the "Third Regiment of Foot Guards" to what?

Answer: Scots Fusilier Guards

The regiment had been traditionally known as the "Scots Guards" ever since it was placed on the English establishment in the 17th century, although it had officially been named as the Third Regiment of Foot Guards by Queen Anne. William IV restored their name upon his accession, granting them the additional status of a regiment of fusiliers to contrast with the Grenadier Guards.

In 1877, Queen Victoria removed this title, having the regiment revert to being simply the Scots Guards.

9. The Irish Guards was formed on the orders of Queen Victoria as a way of commemorating the bravery of Irish soldiers, specifically during which war?

Answer: Boer War

In April 1900, Queen Victoria made a visit to Ireland, the last before she died in January 1901. This visit was undertaken as a way of thanking the people of Ireland for the bravery of their soldiers in the British Army during the Second Boer War, which started in 1899. To commemorate their service, the Queen announced that an Irish regiment of foot guards would be formed, the first new regiment of guards since the Scots Guards became part of the English Army in 1686.

In May 1900, 200 guardsmen of the Grenadier Guards, all of whom were from Ireland, were transferred to form the core of the new regiment.

10. The Welsh Guards is the most recent foot guards regiment to be formed, on the orders of King George V. The regiment's formation date was 26 February 1915, but how long was it before they first mounted the King's Guard at Buckingham Palace?

Answer: Three days

On 2 February 1915, a letter was published in "The Times" raising the suggestion that a Welsh regiment of foot guards be formed, to add to those of England, Scotland and Ireland already in existence. This idea was greeted with such enthusiasm that, just nine days later, the War Office announced that the King had given approval for the formation of such a regiment. Upon Lord Kitchener, then Secretary of State for War, ordering that the regiment be formed 'immediately', Sir Francis Lloyd, then the General Officer Commanding London District, replied "very well sir, they shall go on guard on St David's Day".

The royal warrant confirming the regiment's formation was issued on 26 February and, with Welsh-born recruits taken from those on the reserve lists, the Welsh Guards mounted the guard for the first time on St David's Day, 1 March 1915.

Source: Author Red_John

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Guardians of the Monarch Trivia Quiz

The British monarch has a number of units responsible for his or her protection, both as part of the army and personally responsible to him or her. How much do you know about them?

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>