The accession of King Charles III on 8 September 2022 meant that changes had to be made to badges and insignia throughout the British Armed Forces. The arm badges worn by Colour Sergeants, Company Sergeant Majors and Drill Sergeants of the Grenadier Guards had to be changed so that the former crown and cypher of Queen Elizabeth II had to be replaced. The Colour badges shown here illustrate the first and second versions. The one on the left is the first version introduced in 2023 with an uninspired design that is now generally accepted as the cypher worn on Royal insignia including police badges. This was obviously regarded as a poor successor to the traditional Guards arm badges which had reverse cyphers since Queen Victoria’s time. The second 2024 version, on the right, shows a more acceptable reverse CR cypher. It does not include the Roman numeral III and this would be in accord with the regiment’s connection to King Charles II in whose reign the regiment was raised. A comparison can be made with Colour Badges worn in previous sovereigns’ reigns.
Both these photos come from the Bulletin of the Military Historical Society nos. 293 (August 2023) and 297 (August 2024).
