Spanish Royal Guard


The Royal Guard is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish Royal Family. It currently has a strength of 1500 troops. While the guard does participate in parades and other ceremonial events, it is a fully functional combat unit. Its members are recruited from the ranks of all three branches of the Spanish Armed Forces and receive the same combat training as regular soldiers.
The guard contains a diverse mix of units: a Royal Marines company from the Navy, a paratroop company from the Air Force and an infantry company from the Army, among others. Some units served in recent times in Afghanistan and Bosnia.

History

The history of the Royal Guard dates back to medieval times. The senior unit and one of the oldest body guards in the world is the Corps of Gentlemen of the Chamber, the Monteros de Espinosa, dating to 1006 and created by Sancho Garcia of the House of Castile.
Even before the time of the first monarch of Spain, the Catholic Monarchs formed the group called the Old Guards of Castile. Later on, the first monarch of Spain, Charles V ordered that a company of those guards to guard & reside in his palace, denominating it The Hundred Contines

Official formation

Later on, Charles V's father, Philip the Handsome arrived in Spain in 1502 brought with him his "Archers of Burgundy" aka "of the Blade". These group of Royal Guards with their Burgundian style, together with two units of halberdiers, will remain in service until the reorganization of the "Troops of the Royal Household" by Felipe V. During his reign, the royal guards were organized into:
The guards were disbanded in 1931 as a result of the formation of the 2nd Republic & was replaced by the "Presidential Horse Guards Squadron", which was a cavalry formation. By 1936, it included the infantry "Presidential Guards Battalion”, which remained loyal to the Republic during the civil war.

Restoration

Under Francisco Franco, By Decree of February 4, 1949, the Military House of the Generalissimo was reorganized and on the basis of the republican formations the "Regiment of the Guards of His Excellency the Head of State”, later on the "Guards Regiment of HE the Generalissimo", was activated, which included a mounted squadron which was first raised from surplus personnel of the Regulares. After several reorganizations, the unit would last until Franco's death as a combined arms guard regiment.
Upon Franco’s death & the ascension of King Juan Carlos as the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, the guard regiment was integrated into the new army under the king & formed the basis of what is now the modern day Guardia Real - the "Royal Guards Regiment", which is responsible to the king thru the Ministry of Defense.

Role

The primary function of the Royal guard is to provide military security for the Monarchy. In addition to protecting members of Spanish Royal Family, the present functions of the unit include the protection of foreign heads of state visiting Spain, and of royal palaces such as the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Palace of El Pardo and the Palace of Zarzuela.
The regiment is an active combat unit and has been deployed to Bosnia and Afghanistan. The guard regularly takes part in military exercises organized in conjunction with all three of the main branches of Spains military.
It is involved in the guard mounting ceremony at the Royal Palace on the first Wednesday of every month from 12 midday to 2pm. It is present at military parades in the national capital of Madrid on official holidays including Fiesta Nacional de España and Día de la Constitución. Annually, it has a troop review during the Pascua Militar ceremony on 6 January.

Organization