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Household Division
Household Division is term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings, or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the sovereign.
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Historical Development
In medieval Western Europe, the most able warriors were pressed into service as the personal bodyguards to the monarch and other members of the royal or imperial household; as a result, Household Divisions are sometimes also referred to colloquially as Guards. From this origin comes the modern practice of designating a country’s finest military units as forming the Household Division.
Members of the Household Divisions would necessarily accompany the monarch to protect him when he ventured into the public. Hence, as kingdoms grew larger and more politically complex, the Household Divisions naturally became part of the public spectacle of the state. From this trend comes the modern practice of Household Divisions providing a theatrical ceremonial accompaniment to the head of state at important national events.
Inevitably, the prestige of serving directly with the monarch meant that the Household Divisions became dominated by members of the upper classes, irrespective of their actual skills as soldiers. From this development comes the association of Household Divisions with wealth, snobbery, and discrimination, which persisted until the middle of the 20th century.
Today, members of the Household Divisions continue to enjoy a certain social prestige within the armed forces and the state at large, although they are no longer regarded as necessarily the best soldiers. They do, however, continue to fulfil their ceremonial roles at state occasions, and to uphold the more enduring traditions of military service.
Australia
One of the most modern Household Divisions in the Commonwealth of Nations, the AFG was created in 2000, to provide purely ceremonial functions domestically and abroad. It is unique as a Household Division in that its members are drawn from the army, navy, and air force to serve together under a single command.
Canada
Uniquely, the Canadian Household Division is now an entirely militia rather than regular division. The Governor General's Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards are respectively the first and second most senior infantry militia regiments, while the armoured Governor General's Horse Guards is the most senior of all militia regiments. All three regiments provide both active soldiers and ceremonial guards. Prior to 1970, however, the four regular battalions of the Canadian Guards provided the Household element of the Canadian Forces.
United Kingdom
- Household Cavalry (Composed of two regiments: the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals)
- Foot Guards (Composed of five regiments: the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards, and the Welsh Guards)
The seven regiments that form the Household Division in the UK are all full-time regiments. However, in 2004 the Minister of Defence announced that the Foot Guards would gain a militia (or Territorial Army) battalion, which is expected to be part of the London Regiment. The Household Division and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery are collectively referred to as the Household Troops.
External Links
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