Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal attended a Laying Up service at Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire to mark the official and honourable retirement of a set of Queen Elizabeth’s Sovereign’s Standards from The Household Cavalry Regiment.
The Blues and Royals Standard Party.
Standard party of The Life Guards.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.
(L-R) Staff Corporal Baker, Warrant Officer Class Two Mulholland, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.
(L-R) Warrant Officer Class Two Mulholland, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and The Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury.
The Blues and Royals Standard Party.
The Reverend Tiann Morgner CF, Chaplain to the Household Cavalry Regiment.
Warrant Officer Class Two Mulholland lays up the Standard of The Blues and Royals in Salisbury Cathedral.
The Standards of the Household Cavalry Regiment.
The Laying Up ceremony represents one of the British Army's most solemn traditions where flags known as Colours, which includes Standards and Guidons, are ‘laid up’ to rest.
The Standards of The Life Guards and The Blues & Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), two of the British Army’s most senior units, who make up the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) and Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) were taken out of active service.
Colours are the symbol of the spirit of a regiment; they bear the battle honours and badges granted to the regiment in commemoration of its gallant actions across the centuries and are regarded with the greatest respect.
“Since 2019 The Household Cavalry Regiment has been stationed at Bulford and there can be no greater demonstration of our commitment to Salisbury and Wiltshire than asking the Cathedral to safeguard these sacred symbols of our history.”
The gold embroidered, silk damask Standards of the late Queen were paraded for a final time through the 750-year-old cathedral, in front of a congregation of dignitaries, the wider Regimental family, association veterans and members of the public.
Musical accompaniment was performed by the Band of The Household Cavalry, the State Trumpeters and Salisbury Cathedral Choir.
Princess Anne, wearing the uniform of Colonel Blue and Royals, formally presented the Standard, which bears the Royal Arms, to the cathedral’s permanent care, saying: “Mr Dean, this consecrated Standard formerly carried by the Blues and Royals in the service of the Monarch and Commonwealth I now deliver into your hands for safe custody within these walls.”
Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne, Colonel of The Life Guards, joined the Princess Royal in placing both Standards of their former Commander-in-Chief on the altar, symbolising their transition to honoured memorial.
The Thanksgiving service conducted by the Dean of Salisbury, The Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, brought together military and ecclesiastical traditions in prayer and reflection.
He said: “No more fitting place could be found wherein to deposit these emblems of duty and service than the House of God where praise and prayer are made.”
Also present were the The Right Reverend Stephen Lake, Bishop of Salisbury, Reverend Tom Sander, Chaplain to the HCMR and Reverend Tiann Morgner, Chaplain HCR, who spoke about the emotional weight Standards carry during her sermon:
“These [Standards] hold our sacred memories. Woven into these tapestries are the history of the Life Guards and Blues and Royal, the battles won, the tears shed for fallen comrades and the blood spilt on foreign soils.
“While they are no longer leading the charge, they will still continue to serve as a memorial of all that was won and lost, and we will remember them.”
“Household Cavalry, when your children ask you what these Standards mean to you, tell them your story. Tell them the story of the senior regiment of the Army who protected the Monarch for centuries on horse and in armour, at home and abroad.
“They will continue to tell the story of strength and faith and determination as they hang in a scared place for years to come.”
The Laying Up of Queen Elizabeth II's Sovereign's Standards represents more than the end of one chapter—it's the preservation of military heritage for future generations, ensuring that the legacy of the Household Cavalry Regiment remains visible and accessible to all who visit the ancient cathedral.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Ralf Griffin, Regimental Adjutant, Headquarters Household Cavalry, said: “The Regiments have driven their vehicles over Salisbury Plain since training for D Day in 1944 to currently trialling the new Ajax vehicle fleet for the Army.
“Since 2019 The Household Cavalry Regiment has been stationed at Bulford and there can be no greater demonstration of our commitment to Salisbury and Wiltshire than asking the Cathedral to safeguard these sacred symbols of our history.”
Following the service, they were hung in a permanent location, joining those already on public display until they decay and fall and will then be buried in consecrated ground. This final act ensures that even in their physical end, the Standards receive the reverence their service merits.
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