Ceremonial Duties

As a Foot Guards Regiment in the Household Division, the Welsh Guards are proud to provide the guard for Her Majesty the Queen at her royal residences. When carrying out these duties the Battalion mounts from Wellington Barracks in central London, although is currently based in Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow in west London.

When in its ceremonial role, the Battalion provides the Guards at St James's and Buckingham Palaces, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. Other ceremonial tasks and parades consist of Trooping the Colour and Guards of Honour for visiting Heads of State. Those on parade wear the famous red tunic and bearskin whilst carrying out all these duties or Greatcoats in the winter.

The Battalion was also proudly involved in the Royal Wedding in April 2011 of Prince William and Kate Middleton providing the Royal Guard of Honour at Buckingham Palace with the remainder of the Battalion street lining the processional route on Horse Guards.

The Battalion will not be restricted to just ceremonial duties for the two year period, as the duties are shared between at least two other Battalions allocated to ceremonial duties. In order to keep the Battalion fit and current on their military skills, it is normal for the Battalion to deploy on overseas exercises and operational tours whilst posted to London. Previously the Battalion deployed to the Balkans on a six-month operational tour from London and numerous six-week exercises, the most recent being to Belize, Central America and we are currently training for a further tour of Afghanistan next year.