Officers, 1814

Denis Dighton was the Prince Regent's military painter. This watercolour of his was intended to show the new horse furniture of the Blues. The expensive looking shabraques with their gold fringes would certainly not have been worn on campaign, so the scene is whimsical. Dighton has set them in a Peninsula landscape and put overalls on his officers in an attempt to make them look ready for battle. But the carrying of the standard and the wearing of full dress (apart from the overalls) would only have been seen on ceremonial duty. The pale blue overalls were worn by the Blues while light grey was the colour worn by the Life Guards. The uniform shown agrees with the Clayton Portrait except for the gold tassles hanging from the right side of the girdle instaed of the left. The shabraque has holster covers which were popular in the 18th century but fell out of use in the cavalry. The next style of shabraque to be used by the Royal Horse Guards was simpler in design (see: Standard Bearer 1825)

Regimental Details | Uniforms