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The Kings Troop

Firing Salutes on Royal Anniversaries and more
The King’s Troop is a mounted ceremonial unit in the British Army that fires salutes on royal anniversaries and major events like state visits, as well as providing a gun carriage and a team of black horses for state and military funerals.

The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is quartered at Woolwich. It is a mounted unit, and all of its soldiers are trained to care for and drive teams of six horses, each team pulling a First World War-era QF 13-pounder gun; six teams are used in the unit’s Musical Drive.

It was given the name The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, in 1947, when King George VI decided that, following the mechanisation of the last batteries of horse-drawn artillery, a troop of horse artillery should be maintained to take part in the great ceremonies of state. The King declared that the Riding Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery would be known as ‘His Troop’ or ‘The King’s Troop’. The King enacted his proclamation by amending the page in the visitor’s book of the Troop in manuscript, striking out the word “Riding” and inserting “King’s”. On her accession, Queen Elizabeth II declared that the name given by her father would be maintained.[1]


Picture Credit: The King’s Troop riding in Hyde Park, London in preparation for a Royal Salute for the birthday of Prince Charles in 2012.
Attribution: Sgt. Adrian Harlen, British Army photographer, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King%27s_Troop,_Royal_Horse_Artillery_riding_during_a_gun_salute_ceremony.jpg
This file is licensed under the Open Government Licence version 1.0 (OGL v1.0).

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery replaced the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in their duties as Queen Elizabeth II’s Life Guard at Horse Guards Parade, providing the Troopers of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment time for the 2022 summer leave.[2]

The Troop’s duties include firing salutes on royal and state occasions, taking part in parades, and duties of the King’s Life Guard at Horse Guards for one month each year. The unit provides the gun carriage and team of black horses for state funerals.[3] The unit is most often seen providing gun salutes on state occasions in Hyde Park and Green Park in central London.

Historical Moments
The Army.mod.uk website notes that:

‘Since the Restoration of King Charles in 1660, mounted troops have guarded Horse Guards as the official entrance to the Palace of Whitehall. Legend says that the mounted guards never received the duty to stand down their daily vigil even after the Palace was burnt down in 1698 and have continued their unbroken, loyal duty every day since then. This service is normally carried out by either the Blues and Royals or Life Guards of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment based out of Knightsbridge, but for one month every year, they are relieved by the mounted Gunners of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to provide a well-earned rest for both the Troopers and horses of the Household Cavalry.’

After the Second World War, King George VI expressed the view that, following the mechanisation of the last batteries of horse-drawn artillery, a troop of horse artillery should be retained to take part in the great ceremonies of state. Accordingly, the Riding Troop was reformed on 17th April 1946 at Shoeburyness in Essex as a six-gun Royal Horse Artillery battery for the Household Division.[4] After the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery was formed, it performed at each Royal Tournament until 1999.  It also appeared each year at the British Military Tournament from 2010 until the last performance in 2013.[5]

For 65 years, The King’s Troop was stationed at St John’s Wood Barracks before it was relocated to Napier Lines (also known as King George VI Lines) at the traditional Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in February 2012.[6] Because of the increased distance from central London, the troop can no longer ride to many ceremonial events. Horses are transported by vehicle to stables in central London for appearances at Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and elsewhere.[7]

On 6th September 1997, the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, was carried on a gun carriage by members of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.[8] On 14th September 2022, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was carried in procession on a gun carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she lay in state for four days. The gun carriage used to carry The Queen’s coffin belongs to The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. It was previously used to carry the coffins of King George VI in 1952 and The Queen Mother in 2002.[9]

In November 2022, The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41 Gun Royal Salute to mark the 74th birthday of King Charles III in Green Park, central London.[10] Together with the Household Division, the King’s Troop has appeared every June since 1997, when it first appeared at Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade to celebrate the King’s/Queen’s Official Birthday:

  • At the end of the event, the King’s Troop ranks past the King.[11]
  • After the ceremony, the King’s Troop moves to Green Park, adjacent to Buckingham Palace, firing a 41-gun salute (a 21-gun salute with an additional 20 rounds fired because the gun position is in a Royal Park).

The King’s Troop has about 140 members. Women could apply from 1996 and eventually made up about 40% of the Troop.[12]  Major Erica Bridge was the first female officer to command the King’s Troop.[13]

King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery[14]
In 1793, Britain declared war on Revolutionary France, and a mounted branch, a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, was formed to provide mobile fire support to fast-moving cavalry units of the British Army. Initially composed of two troops, this new unit, known as the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), was formed by the 3rd Duke of Richmond. Although distinct from the Royal Artillery, the RHA was still integrated with it. Today, the RHA is operationally part of the ‘The Gunners’ or Royal Artillery order of battle.

There are currently four separate regiments that wear the cypher (cap badge) of the RHA, of which King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is one. They are primarily ceremonial units used for firing salutes on royal and state occasions. The other three are:

  • 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (active since 1939)
  • 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (active since 1938)
  • 7th (Parachute) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (active since 1961)

Musical Drive
The first Musical Drive by the Royal Artillery was performed at the 1896 Tournament at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, London. ​The display known as the Tournament Drive featured six teams of six horses and three riders pulling First World War-era Quick-Firing (QF) 13-pounder guns.  Each ride opens in dramatic style with a troop officer and trumpeter galloping into the arena under spotlights before the six-gun teams ride into the arena accompanied by the house band.

​Many of the manoeuvres of the Musical Drive date back to the early displays at Islington, including the Scissors and the Wagon Wheel.  Each display concluded with the Half Battery Charge and March Past before the firing of four of the guns.

Guns
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery has six 13-pounder quick-fire guns, built between 1913 and 1918, all of which have seen active service in the First and Second World Wars. They are used regularly for royal salutes in Hyde Park, Green Park or Windsor Great Park for State Occasions and to mark royal anniversaries and birthdays.[15]


Picture Credit: “Gun Salute by the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery” by Defence Images is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Timeline[16]

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Picture Credit: “King’s Troop hand over to the Household Cavalry” by Defence Images is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Sources and Further Reading

CAUTION: This paper is compiled from the sources stated but has not been externally reviewed. Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials covered in this paper for any particular purpose. Such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law. Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this paper meet your specific requirements and you should neither take action nor exercise inaction without taking appropriate professional advice. The hyperlinks were current at the date of publication.

End Notes and Explanations

  1. NOTE: where it applies, © Crown Copyright is duly acknowledged.Source and acknowledgement: https://www.thekingstrooprhaassociation.net/ ↑
  2. Source: https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/08/standing-sentry-in-the-summer-sun-king-s-troop-take-over-queen-s-life-guard/ ↑
  3. Source: Robinson, Helen (n.d.).  “The King’s troop & I”. The Lady. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Troop,_Royal_Horse_Artillery ↑
  4. Source: Clarke 1993, p. 113, Horse Gunners: The Royal Horse Artillery, 200 Years of Panache and Professionalism ↑
  5. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Troop,_Royal_Horse_Artillery ↑
  6. Sources: (1) King’s Troop RHA moves into state-of-the-art facilities in Woolwich Defence News, 8th February 2012, and (2) King’s Troop moves to its ‘spiritual home’ in Woolwich at BBC News, 7th February 2012. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Troop,_Royal_Horse_Artillery ↑
  7. Source: Moore-Bridger, Benedict King’s Troop hoof it 15 miles to new barracks (http://www.standard.co.uk/news/kings-troop-hoof-it-15-miles-to-new-barracks-6808496.html) Evening Standard, London 8th October 2008. Cited at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Troop,_Royal_Horse_Artillery ↑
  8. Source: Palace Announces Further Changes to Funeral Route, BBC News, September 1997. ↑
  9. Source: https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/09/19/where-are-the-royal-horse-artillery-based-and-when-were-they-formed/ ↑
  10. Source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gun-salute-green-park-marks-112623559.html ↑
  11. Source: Trooping the Colour, at the official British Monarchy website ↑
  12. Source: Robinson, Helen (n.d.). “The King’s troop & I”. The Lady. ↑
  13. Source: Roya Nikkhah King’s Troop prepares for Royal Tattoo, at Telegraph, 13th April 2008 ↑
  14. Sources: https://www.royaltournament.org/kingstrooprha and https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/royal-horse-artillery ↑
  15. Source: https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/09/19/where-are-the-royal-horse-artillery-based-and-when-were-they-formed/ ↑
  16. Source: https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-artillery/the-kings-troop-royal-horse-artillery/ ↑

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Martin Pollins

Martin Pollins is a Chartered Accountant and MBA with wide experience in corporate finance and business management. He has served on the boards of several companies, including those listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM and OFEX. He is the Chairman and Founder of OneSmartPlace and was a Council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales from 1988 to 1996. He was managing partner of PRB Martin Pollins, based in Sussex, the first Accountancy firm to advertise on British television. He went on to create and launch the CharterGroup Partnership (the UK’s first Accountancy network) and then LawGroup UK (at the time, one of the largest networks of lawyers in the UK). In recent years, he helped to raise several £millions to fund British films such as The Da Vinci Code, Bridge of San Luis Rey, Head in the Clouds and Merchant of Venice with actors such as Charlize Theron, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, F. Murray Abraham. Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Steven Berkoff, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes and many more. He has written several business publications (see https://onesmartplace.com/resources/)

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