Utente:Samuele2002/Guardie della Regina britannica

Le guardie a cavallo found by the Household Cavalry is called the Queen's Life Guard

The dismounted guard found by the infantry is called the Queen's Guard

Le guardie della Regina e  Queen's Life Guard (called King's Guard and King's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is male) are the names given to contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the United Kingdom. The British Army has regiments of both Horse Guards and Foot Guards predating the English Restoration (1660), and since the reign of King Charles II these regiments have been responsible for guarding the Sovereign's palaces. They are not purely ceremonial, despite tourist perceptions to the contrary. The Queen's Guard are highly-trained, operational-duty soldiers armed with functional firearms loaded with live ammunition.

Operating area

The Queen's Guard and Queen's Life Guard are mounted at the royal residences that come under the operating area of the British Army's London District, which is responsible for the administration of the Household Division. This covers Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace and the Tower of London, as well as Windsor Castle. The Queen's Guard is also mounted at the sovereign's other official residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, but not as often as in London. In Edinburgh, the guard is the responsibility of the resident infantry battalion at Redford Barracks. It is not mounted at the Queen's private residences at Sandringham or Balmoral.

Le guardie della Regina sono un contingente di soldati responsabile della guarda di Buckingham Palace e  St James's Palace (including Clarence House) a Londra. The guard is made up of a company of soldiers from a single regiment, which is split in two, providing a detachment for Buckingham Palace and a detachment for St James's Palace. Because the Sovereign's official residence is still St James's, the guard commander (called the 'Captain of the Guard') is based there, as are the regiment's colours. When the Sovereign is in residence, the Queen's Guard numbers three officers and 40 other ranks, with four sentries each posted at Buckingham Palace (on the forecourt) and St James's Palace (two at the main entrance in Pall Mall, two at the entrance to Clarence House). This reduces to three officers and 31 ORs, with two sentries each when the Sovereign is not in residence. The Queen's Guard is not purely ceremonial in nature. They provide sentries during the day and night, and during the latter hours they patrol the grounds of the Palace. Until 1959, the sentries at Buckingham Palace were stationed outside the fence. This stopped following an incident involving a female tourist and a Coldstream Guardsman – due to the continued pestering of tourists and sightseers, the guardsman kicked the tourist on the ankle as he marched. The tourist made a complaint to the police and, despite sympathy, the sentry was confined to barracks for ten days. Not long after, the sentries were moved inside the fence.

Postings

Sentry of the Grenadier Guards posted outside St James' Palace

At any one time, three infantry battalions are posted for public duties; two of these are Guards battalions (one based at Wellington Barracks next to Buckingham Palace and one at Victoria Barracks in Windsor), while the third is a line infantry unit (based at Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich). In addition, there are three incremental companies based at Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich and Wellington Barracks. All of these units come under the administrative authority of London District—as public duties units, they not only take part in ceremonial, but are also committed to providing military aid to the civilian authorities.

Foot Guards

The guard is usually found from one of the five regiments of foot guards:

• Grenadier Guards
• Coldstream Guards
• Scots Guards
• Irish Guards
• Welsh Guards

However, in theory any Commonwealth unit can provide the guard. On many occasions, the Gurkhas, RAF Regiment and Royal Marines have provided the guard, while a handful of units from other Commonwealth countries have also done so (see below). Only one unit has come from a Commonwealth country of which the Queen is not head of state, namely the 1st Battalion Royal Malay Regiment in 2008.

Gurkhas, Royal Marines and RAF Regiment

The RAF Regiment Ensign parades with the Queen's Colour

The following is a list of units of the Gurkhas and Royal Marines to have mounted the Queen's Guard since the Second World War

• 1° battaglione, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, Dec 1971
• 1° battaglione, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, Oct 1973
• 2° battaglione, 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), Nov 1975
• 1st Battalion, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, Aug 1977
• 41 Commando, Royal Marines, Nov 1978
• 42 Commando, Royal Marines, Jul 1986
• 1° battaglione, Royal Gurkha Rifles, Aug 1996
• 42 Commando, Royal Marines, June 2014
• Brigade of Gurkhas, May 2015

Unlike the Gurkhas and the Royal Marines, the RAF Regiment has a dedicated ceremonial unit, the Queen's Colour Squadron. It is this that represents the RAF whenever it provides the Queen's Guard.

Line infantry

Sentries of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment being posted at Windsor

Prior to Options for Change, because there were a total of eight guards battalions, it was rare for battalions of line infantry to mount the Queen's Guard and, as such, was a significant honour. Before 1996, only two battalions had served on public duties as part of an operational tour in London District. However, when the 2nd Battalions of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards were put in suspended animation, a decision to replace one of the three Foot Guard battalions then engaged on public duties by a line infantry battalion was taken, so as to enable the Foot Guards battalion to increase the proportion of its effort employed on training for operational roles. Since 1996, a line infantry battalion has been stationed in London (first at Hounslow, then Woolwich) under the command of London District:

• 1st Battalion, The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment, 1986–1988
• 1st Battalion, The King's Regiment, 1992–1994
• 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot), 1996–1997
• 1st Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding), 1998–2000
• 1st Battalion, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, 2000–2001
• 1st Battalion, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, 2002–2005
• 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot), 2005–2007
• 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), 2007–2008
• 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 2008–2010
• 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires), 2011–2013

Since 2013 regular public duties responsibility has reverted to the Household Division.

Territorial Army/Army Reserve

In 1938 the Honourable Artillery Company, a Territorial Army unit, provided the King's Guard. The same Regiment subsequently provided the Queen's Guard in 1958. During the 1990s the Band of the Honourable Artillery Company provided musical support for the St.James`s Palace Detachment of the Queen`s Guard. In June 2015 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh provided the Tower of London detachment of the Queen's Guard

Home Guard

On 14 May 1941, the Home Guard provided the King's Guard, in recognition of the first anniversary of its foundation. This was repeated in May 1943.

Buckingham Palace, St James Palace e la Torre di Londra

Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace

There are two detachments of the Queen's Guard in London, one each for Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, under the command of the Captain of The Queen's Guard. Because St James's Palace is still the official residence of the Court, it is here that the Colour is lodged and the Captain of the Guard establishes his headquarters.

The Queen's Guard in London changes in the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11:30am every day in the summer and every other day in the winter.

The St James' Palace detachment of the Queen's Guard, led usually by the Corps of Drums, and bearing the Colour (if the Queen is in residence, then this will be the Queen's Colour; if she is not, then it is the Regimental Colour), marches along the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where the Buckingham Palace detachment has formed up to await their arrival. These two detachments are the Old Guard. Meanwhile, the New Guard is forming up and are awaiting inspection by the Adjutant on the parade square at Wellington Barracks. The Band, having been inspected by the Adjutant, forms a circle to play music whilst the New Guard is inspected. The Guard provides a full Military Band consisting of no fewer than 35 musicians (usually, though not always, from one of the Guards regiments) accompanied by their Director of Music. When the New Guard is formed up, led by the Band, it marches across into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. Once there, the New Guard advances towards the Old Guard in slow time and halts. The Old Guard presents arms, followed by the New Guard presenting arms. The Captains of the Guards march towards each other for the handing over of the Palace keys. The new reliefs are marched to the guardrooms of Buckingham Palace and St James' Palace where new sentries are posted.

During this time the Band has taken its place by the centre gate, formed up in a half-circle, where it plays music to entertain the New and Old Guard as well as the watching crowds. During this period, the two regimental colours are paraded up and down by the Ensigns (usually junior officers of 2nd Lieutenant rank or equivalent). With the Old and New Guards formed up once again, the Old Guard and the Band marches out through the centre gates in slow time to their Regimental Slow march played by the Band. At the end of the slow march the Captain of the Old Guard gives the word of command to 'Break into Quick Time' and with a brisk five pace roll from the drums, the Band leads the way back to Wellington Barracks.

Old and new sentries (Coldstream Guards and Queen's Colour Squadron) posted at the Tower of London

A detachment of the regiment on guard at Buckingham Palace and St James' Palace is also responsible for providing the guard at the Tower of London. As the Tower is still officially a royal residence, and is also the location of the crown jewels, it remains the army's obligation to guard it. The Tower guard numbers one officer, 3 NCOs and 10 soldiers, and usually posts a sentry outside the Jewel House and one outside the Queen's House. As the protection of the Tower is their responsibility (in conjunction with the Yeoman Warders), the guard must also see it is secure at night (see Ceremony of the Keys).

Windsor Castle

One of the public duties battalions or incremental companies is responsible for providing the guard at Windsor Castle. The location of the ceremony at Windsor varies; in the summer, when the Queen is in residence it usually takes place on the lawn in the Castle's quadrangle. In wet weather or winter to protect the lawn, or when the Queen is not in residence, the ceremony occurs outside the Guardroom by Henry VIII's Gateway at the foot of Castle Hill.

The new guard at Windsor Castle (Coldstream Guards) presents arms. Queen Elizabeth II can be seen in the window above the archway

The ceremony for changing the Windsor Guard is broadly the same as that which takes place at Buckingham Palace. At 10.40am, the New Guard marches from Victoria Barracks, through Windsor and turn left going up Castle Hill to be in the Lower Ward. During the summer months, and when Her Majesty is in residence at the Castle, the guards occasionally change in the Upper Ward on the grass.

When changing guard in the normal way, the new guard arrive at roughly 11am when the old guard have formed up outside the guardroom. Once both guards and the duty band (there is no duty band on Sundays) are present, the old guard and new guard will present arms to each other, interspersed by bugle calls - the officers will then go towards each other and symbolically touch left hands to 'hand over the keys to the castle' (though no actual keys are handed over any more). The guards will then slope arms and the reliefs will be formed up to go round the castle and change the sentries - during this process, the band typically plays a selection of music. Once the relief returns, the old guard forms back up ready to march back to Victoria Barracks. The band leads them out whilst the new guard presents arms. Once the old guard have left, the new guard are dismissed to the guardroom where they will be based for the next 24/48 hours - every two hours, the guard relief will march out and change the sentries.

The Bank Picquet

During the Gordon Riots in 1780 a detachment of the Foot Guards successfully defended the Bank of England from a violent mob. Thenceforth the Bank paid for a detachment of soldiers, usually provided by the Brigade of Guards to defend the Bank. From 1780 the detachment marched from their barracks, initially from the Tower of London, later Wellington or Chelsea Barracks though in bad weather the detachment would be sent by a normal train of the London Underground.

References

Categoria:Guardie reali