The Household Cavalry would be similar to the 3rd US Infantry Division (The Old Guard.) who carry out both ceremonial and active service. I doubt that you would refer to them as Disneyland Army Reserves, would you?
All Household Cavalrymen alternate their service between Household Cavalry Regiment and Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. When on Ceremonial duties they are primarily based in London and take part in State and Royal occasions.
After 18-24 months of ceremonial duty, they are posted to the Household Cavalry Regiment, Bulford to train on the Ajax armoured fighting vehicles.
The Cavalry Regiment is a fully operational regiment and sees active service, primarily as an armoured division. In recent years, they have served in an operational capacity in the Falkland Islands, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.
They are professional soldiers first and foremost.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) is based at Knightsbridge Barracks in London and provides ceremonial troops for all state occasions. For example, State Visits, the State Opening of Parliament, The Queen’s Birthday Parade (Trooping The Colour) and the Garter Service. HCMR has two...
www.hcavfoundation.org
