TThe Life Guards are the senior regiment of the British Army. Just before the Restoration of King Charles II, a Royal Mounted Bodyguard was formed in Holland from eighty Royalists who had gone into exile with The King after the Battle of Worcester in 1652. In March 1660, The King appointed Officers to three Troops of Horse Guards. These Troops were formed on The King's return to England in May and were originally commanded by Lord Gerard of Brandon, Sir Charles Berkeley and Sir Philip Howard. A fourth (Scots) troop was raised in Edinburgh on 2 April 1661 commanded by James, Earl of Newburgh, and this Troop joined the English establishment early in the reign of Queen Anne.

The Regiment first saw action at the Battle of Sedgemoor (the Monmouth Rebellion) in 1665. Three Troops of Horse Grenadier Guards (Mounted Infantry) were added to the three English Troops of Horse Guards in 1678. These were disbanded in January 1680 but raised again in 1684. They saw further action in both the Jacobite Wars and during the War of Austrian Succession (1742 -46).
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