Guard of honour

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A guard of honour (

Guards of honour also serve in the civilian world for fallen police officers, firefighters, and other civil servants and events. Military style salutes and the presentation of colors are given at funerals for firefighters, law enforcement personnel and other civil servants. Certain religious bodies, especially churches of the Anglican Communion and the Methodist movement, have the tradition of an honour guard at the funeral of an ordained elder, in which all other ordained elders present "guard the line" between the door of the church and the grave, or hearse if the deceased is to be buried elsewhere or cremated.^[1] Catholic chivalric orders, such as the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, provide guards of honour for deceased knights and high-ranking officers during funerals.^[2][3][4] The practice of providing a guard of honour as a mark of respect also occurs in sports, especially throughout the Commonwealth of Nations.

Guards of honour by country

Guards of honour have been mounted by a number of

The

Egypt

The

The Guard of Honour unit in Namibia is the 21 Ceremonial Guard Battalion of the Namibian Defence Force. Falling under the 21 Brigade based in Windhoek. Initially the Battalion was also part of the Presidential Security detail, however they were removed from this role and relegated to guard of honour duties.

Nigeria

The members of the

The

The flag of the Presidential Guard of Zimbabwe consists of a beige background, with three equal horizontal stripes of red, green and red, and the centre having a shield which contains a white wreath beneath a bird, over which are two brown rifles in saltire.[7] The brigade is based currently at Dzivarasekwa Barracks in Harare and is led by Brigadier Anselem Sanyatwe.

Americas

Argentina

The

The Brazilian armed forces and Brazilian Military Police have several units designated as guards of honour, which perform public and ceremonial duties on behalf of the Armed Forces and the military police units. The most important of them is the Brazilian president's honour guard units, all of the Brazilian Army. It is composed of the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment (1o Regimento de Cavalaria de Guardas – RCG, in Portuguese) – "Independence Dragoons", the Presidential Guard Battalion (Batalhão da Guarda Presidencial – BGP, in Portuguese) and the Cayenne Battery. All these units fall under the Planalto Military Command.

The Brasilia Marine Group of the Brazilian Marine Corps, a component of the Brazilian Navy, provides ceremonial guards of honour as well. The Ministry of Defence maintains its own joint service honour guard.^[8]

Canada

Military public duties in Ottawa, Canada's national capital, are formally the responsibility of two regiments of foot guards: the Canadian Grenadier Guards and the Governor General's Foot Guards. One of their main tasks is the provision of sentries at ceremonial and other official state functions organized by the Government of Canada.^[9][10] Their tasks include mounting the guard of honour at military funerals and other events attended by visiting dignitaries. The two regiments of foot guards, together with the Governor General's Horse Guards, based in Toronto, make up Canada's Household Division.

The Canadian Army also operates a summer public duties detachment known as the Ceremonial Guard, which assumes public duties in Ottawa from late-June to late-August.^[11] The Ceremonial Guard is made up of regulars or reservists of the Canadian Army, although its membership is also augmented by members regulars and reservists of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Royal Canadian Navy.^[12] Like the foot guards, the Ceremonial Guards also mount the guard of honour for military funerals, and visiting dignitaries while in season.^[11][13] Members of the Ceremonial Guard wear the uniforms of the Canadian foot guards, as they have historically staffed the summer public duties detachment, before membership in the Ceremonial Guard was opened to the entire Canadian Armed Forces in the 21st century.^[12] The Ceremonial Guard is considered an ad hoc detachment, as its members are drawn from various units of the armed forces, and does not constitute a permanent unit in the Canadian Forces' order of battle.

In addition to the Canadian foot guards, and the Ceremonial Guards, units with regularly scheduled guard mountings include the Royal 22nd Regiment. The regiment mounts the guard from late-June to Labour Day (the first Monday of September) at the Citadelle of Quebec in Quebec City, a military installation, and secondary residence of the Monarch and Governor-General.^[14] However, as the unit is based in Quebec City, they rarely mount the guard of honour for foreign dignitaries.

Guards of honour are also formed by civilian police, and fire services, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. These civilian honour guards are typically mounted for funerals, and local ceremonies, with the honour guard units typically made up of 30 to 60 members. Some, like the York Regional Police, operate a mounted honour guard unit. Fire and rescue ceremonial units such as the Toronto Fire Services Honour Guard and the Calgary Firefighters Honour Guard are unique in that they are armed with a ceremonial axe.

Colombia

The

Haitian honour guard duties are performed by the General Security Unit of the National Palace of the Haitian National Police (L'Unité de Sécurité Générale du Palais National, USGPN) which is a major specialized unit of the PNH. It has, since 1997, mainly ensured security at the Palais National and the security of the President of Haiti. The USGPN works with the Presidential Security Unit (Unité de sécurité présidentielle, USP) to protect the president, as well as intervene when a crime takes place and or assist police officers in their duties, outside of the USGPN's ceremonial ones. Funeral honours, state visits, and military parades are some of the many ceremonies that the USGPN takes in.^[16]

Jamaica

The Jamaica Regiment is primarily responsible for public duties in the capital of Kingston on behalf of the Jamaica Defence Force. The regiment's first battalion usually mounts the guard of honour at national ceremonies, serving as a foot guard to the Governor-General of Jamaica. Members of the regiment also provide sentries at the National Heroes Park.^[17]

Mexico

The Honour Guard in

The

The other services of the Peruvian Armed Forces have their own dedicated ceremonial units. They include the Fanning Marine Company (Compañía de Infantería de Marina Capitán de Navío AP Juan Fanning García) of the Peruvian Navy; and the Airborne Platoon of the 72nd Squadron of the Peruvian Air Force.

United States

Each uniformed service branch in the U.S. Armed Forces has its own official honour guard: the Army (3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment),^[18] Marines (U.S. Marine Corps Ceremonial Guard Company),^[19] Navy (U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard),^[20] Air Force (U.S. Air Force Honor Guard),^[21] Space Force (U.S. Space Force Honor Guard), and Coast Guard (U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard).^[22] Most state national guard units and state defence forces have a ceremonial guard unit as well. High Frontier Honor Guard is the official United States Air Force ceremonial unit assigned to Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and acts as the de facto official honor guard unit for the United States Space Force.

The official honour guard of every branch is located in the National Capital Region, though nearly every military installation will have its own honour guard for local ceremonies and events. The honour guard units in National Capital Region, formed into the Joint Service Honor Guard of the National Capital Region and the Department of Defense, an ad hoc unit of battalion size, represent the military as a whole and the United States as a nation, and perform numerous ceremonies on behalf of the President of the United States, the commander-in-chief of the federal Armed Forces, with musical accompaniment by each of the central bands of the Armed Forces based in the capital.

Since World War II, The

Many local, state, national and federal public safety agencies in the United States maintain Honour Guards, Pipes & Drums and Buglers, including fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, and search and rescue agencies, who typically use adaptations of military honour guards, and honour those who die in the line of duty (LODD-Line of Duty Death), off-duty but still on the job, and retirees, as well as participating in support of other agencies, and parades. Some Law Enforcement agencies are able to maintain a Rifle Team for 'three volley' salutes. Most, even those within major career paid agencies, are not paid for performing and preparing for the honour guard duty.^{[citation needed]}

Venezuela

The Presidential Honour Guard is the joint service military unit mandated to ensure the immediate security of the President of Venezuela and his First Family and for the performance of public duties in the most important places in the country. The most distant antecedents of the Presidential Honour Guard go back to the Hussars Troop of Simon Bolivar, of the Venezuelan War of Independence and of the larger Spanish American wars of independence, raised in June 1815 and part of a more bigger guards brigade targeted for the immediate security of the Liberator, and the early 20th century 1st Cavalry Regiment "Ambrosio Plaza" that until the 1950s, albeit reduced to squadron size, provided the ceremonial security of the President and was modeled on the Prussian horse guards units of the late 19th century.

The modern brigade serves as a ceremonial escort to the President of Venezuela at

Aside from the PHGB, there are two other foot guards battalions in the NBAF, the Caracas Foot Guards Battalion of the Ministry of Defence, and the Brigadier Daniel Florence O'Leary Headquarters and HQ Services Foot Guards Battalion of the Venezuelan Army Headquarters. Both foot guard battalions are also tasked with forming guards of honour and public duties. These two battalions wear berets instead of combat helmets when in full dress, when in historical dress the shako is worn.

Asia

China (People’s Republic of China)

Today the duties of honour guards are performed by the Combined Honour Guard of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), are provided by the 1st Guard Division of PLA Beijing Garrison [zh] in Beijing, under the Central Theater Command and reporting directly to the General Staff. They marched as the first battalion in the military parade of the 35th, 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries of the People's Republic of China. They are often on parades led by a colour guard detail carrying the PLA flag.

In addition to the Beijing battalion, the PLA also operates a number of other honour guard units that, including in the

In the Republic of China (known colloquially as Taiwan), the military honour guard duty is provided by members from the following companies representing the branches of the Republic of China Armed Forces:

• Honour Guard Company, Army HQ, Republic of China Army
• Honour Guard Company, Corps HQ Battalion, Republic of China Marine Corps
• Fleet Honour Guard, Republic of China Navy
• Honour Guard Company, ROC Air Force Air Defense Artillery Command, Republic of China Air Force

Each branch maintain their own respective honour guards, all of which follow the American precedent and make up the Armed Forces Honour Guard (中華民國三軍儀隊). The National Day Honour Guard Battalion is also made up of personnel of the honour guards companies of the aforementioned branches.^[29]

Guardsmen employ a

The

In India, the Tri-Services Guard of Honour is made up of men or women drawn from three services of the Indian military: the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy. It is based at New Delhi and is of company size, present only during state visits. In January 2015, during Barack Obama's state visit to India, Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first female officer to lead the guard of honour for a foreign leader.^[31] In the Indian Air Force, there is only one unit that serves as an exhibition drill team. This unit, known officially as the Air Warrior Drill Team (AWDT), was founded in 2004 and serves as the guard of honour of the IAF.^[32][33]

Indonesia

The term "guard of honour" in Indonesian is Pasukan Kehormatan which take their modern form in deputized formations of the former Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and the Royal Netherlands Navy.

In Indonesia, the unit institutionally tasked to act as the Guard of Honour during a state visit is the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres) which takes place at the national palaces (Merdeka Palace or Bogor Palace) with the President of Indonesia and the visiting dignitary present to inspect the guards.^[34] The Paspampres is part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) tasked with protective security duties for the head of state and state-protocol duties (ceremonial). As a military tri-services special joint service command, the ceremonial duties of Paspampres are to conduct public duties during state function occasions including to provide quarter guard and guard mounting duties for the national official residences.^[35]

The ceremonial duties tasked to the Paspampres is the responsibility of a unit within Paspampres known as the "State Protocol Escort Battalion" (Batalyon Pengawal Protokoler Kenegaraan abbreviated "Yonwalprotneg"), it is a detachment consisting of chosen military policemen selected from the Military Police Corps with a minimum height requirement of 180 centimetres (71 in). This detachment is also tasked to become the Cordon Guard during the arrival ceremony at the airport apron during a state visit and is responsible to act as pallbearers during a state funeral. Their uniform are red full dress uniforms with a white buff belt worn on the upper waist, white trousers with white parade boots and a black shako as the headdress,^[36] sometimes a light blue beret is worn for other duties such as during the Changing of the Guard ceremony or a state funeral.^[37] A black uniform with peaked cap also present.

During the national ceremony commemorating the

The

Prior to 1979, the Imperial Immortal Guard provided honour guards for official events of state.

Iraq

The Iraqi Armed Forces maintains the a guard of honour made up of personnel from each branch of the armed forces. The unit provides guards of honour for foreign dignitaries at the Iraqi Ministry of Defence. Prior to 2003, the personnel of the guard of honour were selected from the Republican Guard.

Japan

The

The

The Guard of Honour of the

South Korea today operates several guards of honour companies under the

For ceremonial purposes the guards carry various rifles - the Army, Navy and Air Force carry the M16 rifle; the Marine Corps carry M1 Garands and the traditional guards carry ceremonial swords, arrows, spears, and lances, keeping with the traditions of the Korean military and as a tribute to the guards units of the Imperial era. Their colour guards also reflect these influences as well. Seamen and junior ratings in the honour guards of the Republic of Korea Navy wear sailor caps bearing "Republic of Korea Navy" in Korean (with Hangul lettering) as part of the dress uniforms, while officers and senior ratings wear peaked caps. While the service guards units maintain their respective military bands based on the US and UK practices, the traditional guard unit also contains a Daechwita, a form of military band playing Korean traditional music for military ceremonies and events, and as such wears uniforms used by similar ensembles in the 19th century.

The United Nations Command maintains an honour guard that is composed of members of the ROKAF, the US Armed Forces and other partner nations.

Kyrgyzstan

The National Guard of Kyrgyzstan carries out official representative functions on behalf of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic. The guard of honour is formed from the 701st Military Unit of the National Guard. The National Guard stands at attention at the National Flagpole on Ala-Too Square in Bishkek, and has been performing the changing of the guard ceremony every hour since 16 August 1998.^{[citation needed]}

Malaysia

The guard of honour in Malaysia usually consists of the 1st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment, which performs most ceremonial duties in Malaysia, such as Heroes' Day, visitation of diplomats and state leaders, National Day, guard duties at the Royal Palace of Malaysia, and many more, in the national level. The Royal Malay Regiment also mounts the guard during state visits to the Ministry of Defence.

A guard of honour company from each of the battalions of the RMR is also mounted for

Units of the

Honour guards units of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN Honour Guard Battalion, Lumut) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF Honour Guard Battalion or the RMAF College) are mounted in the presence of the Sultan of Selangor and the Sultan of Pahang, respectively, in events where each of the two service branches are involved. Visits to the MoD building by naval and air general and flag officers are also accompanied by the guard of honour units of these services.

Nepal

In

In Pakistan, the guard of honour is provided by men drawn from three services of the Pakistan Armed Forces: The Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, and the Pakistan Navy. A tri-service guard of honour company is stationed in Islamabad, the national capital, for services in state visits and important national holidays.^[43] The Guides Cavalry also provide ceremonial duties for events in Islamabad.

Philippines

The Presidential Security Group (PSG) provides honour guard services to the President of the Philippines in Malacañang Palace, especially during state visits to the country. The PSG is composed of men and women from the various uniformed organizations of the Philippines: the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine Coast Guard. All wear a dark blue rayadillo full dress uniform with the pith helmet as headdress in ceremonial events.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines have five designated honour guard battalions mandated for public duties for events concerning the Armed Forces. They include the army's Security and Escort Battalion, the navy's Headquarters Philippine Navy & Headquarters Support Group and Marine Security and Escort Group, and the Air Force Special Security Group. The armed forces' General Headquarters and Headquarters Service Command also maintains a separate honour guard battalion, the General Headquarters Security & Escort Battalion, which serves as the official honour guard battalion of the Secretary of National Defence.

Honour Guard units are also used within the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard. These services typically mount honour guards on important occasions. The National Police guard of honour serves as the official guards of the Secretary of Interior and Local Government, and wear blue uniforms with the pith helmet, a tradition stemming from the old Spanish Civil Guard. The guard of honour company of the Coast Guard serves similar duties for the Secretary of Transportation and is the only unit wearing English styled sailor caps as part of the ratings' dress uniform.

Singapore

Singapore's guard-of-honour units are recruited from members of all four services of the Singapore Armed Forces – the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy, the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Digital and Intelligence Service – as well as the Singapore Police Force. They take their position at the forefront of major parades and significant state events, such as the country's National Day on 9 August.

Equipped with the SAR-21 Assault Rifle with bayonets attached, the guards wear the Ceremonial Uniform (known as the No. 1), which (except in the case of Navy honour guards) have various colours imbued on a thin strip running down the outer-sides of the trousers indicating the unit's service of origin (red for the Army, light-blue for the Air Force, and black for the Police). They also wear distinctive badges, medals, award ribbons, and buttons. These Guard of Honour units will typically be contrasted by at least one contingents of other servicemen attired in their regular uniform (the No. 4 uniform for the SAF units and the No. 3 uniform for the SPF unit).

Guard-of-honour units in attendance at the annual

In Tajikistan, the guard of honour is provided by men drawn from the four services of the

In addition to the military

Thailand

In Thailand, the honour guard role is taken on by the

The ceremonial uniform worn by the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the King's Guards, the seniormost of these units and more present in the public duties role, features a scarlet tunic and bearskin cap; similar to the uniforms used by foot guards in the Commonwealth of Nations. The regiment's 3rd battalion uniform features a white tunic and pink facings, with a pink bearskin cap. An RTAF tri-service guard of honour from the King's Guard is mounted during state visits, the naval and air force guardsmen are usually cadets from their respective service academies.

Turkmenistan

Ceremonial military duties in

Ceremonial honour guards of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan are provided by the Honour Guard Battalion of the Tashkent Military District, which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence and is based in the Tashkent Region. The battalion is composed of over 100 soldiers, with each platoon being made up of servicemen from different branches of the armed forces. The ceremonial company of the Uzbekistan National Guard provided the guard of honour and served as pallbearers for the late Uzbek president Islam Karimov after his death in September 2016.^[47]

Vietnam

Two honour guard units fall under the

The Albanian Republican Guard, established in 1928, is a law enforcement unit in Albania. They wear dark blue or black uniforms with gold trimmings and plumed helmets,^[50] they serve as the ceremonial honor guard for the President and high-ranking officials.^[51] Beyond their formal duties, they engage with tourists at the Presidential Palace in Tirana.

Armenia

Honour guards from the

The Guard Battalion (German: Gardebataillon) of the Austrian Armed Forces is the ceremonial unit in Austria. The main task is to represent Austria at home and abroad. It is stationed exclusively at Maria Theresien Barracks in Vienna and maintains the Guards Band Vienna (German: Gardemusik) as well.

Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, military honour guards during state visits are provided by the

The Belgian Royal Escort (Dutch: Koninklijk escorte te paard, French: Escorte royale à cheval) is a horse-mounted unit that accompanies the King of Belgium on ceremonial occasions. It also provides escorts for foreign visiting heads of state and ambassadors presenting their credentials at the Royal Palace in Brussels.

The Royal Escort is not a full-time unit but is brought together on major ceremonies. Formerly a part of the Belgian Gendarmerie (now defunct), it is provided by units of the Belgian Federal Police. The uniform is composed of a black bearskin with red plume, black tunic and white breeches. Troopers carry a red-yellow-black pennant on their lance.

Occasionally, foot guard is provided by cadets from the Royal Military Academy in their night-blue Gala Dress.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The

Bulgaria

The

Ceremonial duties are usually performed by the Prague Castle Guard, a special unit of the armed forces of the Czech Republic, organized under the Military Office of the President of the Czech Republic, which is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic.

The Army of the Czech Republic also maintains the Honour Guard of the Czech Armed Forces, which was founded in 2005.^[62] The company is currently made of 38 soldiers, including its commander. The company is also made up of three colour guard members, 27 honour guards, and four reserve members.

Denmark

The Royal Life Guards is an infantry regiment of the Danish Army. It serves in two roles: as a front line combat unit, and as a guard/ceremonial unit to the Danish monarchy. Danish Amalienborg palace is guarded by this unit day and night. The Guard Hussar Regiment Mounted Squadron also serves ceremonial purposes, such as providing escorts for VIPs and performing public duties.

Estonia

The Guard Battalion is specialized unit under the Military Police of the Estonian Defence Forces, which conducts ceremonial duties and prepares military police units.^[63]

Finland

The Guard Jaeger Regiment is located in Santahamina, near the capital Helsinki, and carries the ceremonial duties necessary for visiting guests of honour.

France

The

A four-regiment unit named the Guards of Honour ("Gardes d'honneur") was established by Napoleon in 1813 to provide additional cavalry to the Grande Armée. It fought in the German campaign of 1813 and the campaign in north-east France (1814) before it was disbanded after the Bourbon restoration.^[64]

Georgia

Aside from its duties as a rapid emergency response unit, the

The primary mission of the

during state visits or on similar occasions. In addition, the Wachbataillon takes part in military events and ceremonies of major importance. A secondary mission is to perform ceremonial guard duty at the Ministry of Defence and other high-profile public places, and protect and guard the members of the German government and the Ministry of Defence. Usually, three guard companies made up of personnel of the Bundeswehr make up the guard of honour for the President and other high-ranking officials of the state, as well as during state visits of foreign heads of state and government.

Historical honour guard battalions include the Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment, which served as the primary honour guard regiment for the German Democratic Republic from 1962 to 1990. The Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment also formed a part of the security for the Neue Wache. In Nazi Germany, the guard of honour was provided by both the SS-Verfügungstruppe and the Wachregiment Berlin, the Army's guard and garrison regiment in Berlin.

Greece

In Greece, the

Presidential Palace. Its members, known as Evzones, must be taller than 1.85m and are trained hard as their duty includes standing completely still for more than an hour 4 times a day. They are famous for their military discipline, the ability to stand motionless without even blinking, their stylish walking and the uniform which derives from traditional Greek dress. A tri-service guard of honour composed of servicemen from the Hellenic Army, the Hellenic Navy, and the Hellenic Air Force is maintained as part of the Ministry of National Defence

.

Hungary

Until 31 December 2006 Hungary's honour guard was the Hungarian Defence Forces's 32nd Budapest Guard and Ceremonial Regiment. Following that regiment's disbandment, and until 31 December 2010, honour guard duties were taken over by the Ceremonial Battalion branch, part of the MH Támogató Dandár (MH TD, HDF Support Brigade). On 1 January 2011, the responsibility for honour guard duties were passed to Nemzeti Honvéd Díszegység (the National Home Defence Ceremonial Band), a part of the MH TD.^[65][66]

The official honour guard of the Hungarian People's Republic is currently the Hungarian People's Army's 7015th Ceremonial Regiment.^[67][68][69] The regiment provides sentries for the Sándor Palace in Budapest.

Ireland

In Ireland, a guard of honour is drawn from the Irish Army and is called 'Garda Onóra' in Irish. It is inspected by the President of Ireland, Taoiseach or visiting dignitaries. Specifically, battalions from the Infantry Corps are drawn for guards of honour, to form the Ceremonial Military Guard. Personnel carry dignitaries. Personnel of the guard carry Steyr AUG rifles and wear the Service Dress (SD) on ceremonial occasions. The Irish Defence Forces guard of honour participates in ceremonial events such as the National Day of Commemoration, the National Famine Commemoration and the Easter Parade. Guards of honour also take part in the Changing of the Guard at Merrion Square park in the capital.

The Blue Hussars also performed public duties for the Irish Army until it was dissolved in 1948.

Italy

In Italy the unit institutionally intended to act as an honour guard to the

Altar of the Homeland, and at the gates of the Quirinal Palace

.

Other honour guards units are formed within all branches of the

Granatieri di Sardegna"and the honour squadron from the 8° Regiment "Lancieri di Montebello" of the Italian Army, the Capitol Honour Services Company of the Italian Navy and the Honour Company of the Italian Air Force, all stationed in Rome

.

Guards of honour are also drawn by local units within Rome of the Guardia di Finanza and Polizia di Stato.

Kosovo

The

Independence Day, Constitution Day and Europe Day.^[71]

Moldova

In

Stefan cel Mare era uniforms in its exhibition drill routine.^[73][74][75]

Monaco

The Honour Guard function of the

Principality of Monaco are carried by the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince

("Prince's Riflemen Company").

Netherlands

The Honour Guards in Netherlands consists of two guard regiments, Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers and Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene, both from the Royal Netherlands Army. Until 1995 there were three. These regiments, organized as single infantry battalions, provide much of the protocol guards during state holidays in the Netherlands. Guard of honour detachments for public duties are also maintained by the Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee.

North Macedonia

North Macedonia's Ceremonial Guard Battalion is part of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia which is mainly used for ceremonial purposes. It is the personal guard of the President of North Macedonia. The National Guard can be often seen near the presidential palace, during official visits of foreign presidents or delegations, ceremonies, and during the days of the flag. In 2010 the Ministry of Defence proposed and designed new uniforms for the guards. Both, the old and the new uniforms are based on the uniforms of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization revolutionaries with some details of the other periods of the history of North Macedonia. Influence over the new design was based on the uniform worn by Bulgarian^[76][77][78] revolutionary Dedo Iljo Maleshevski and the uniforms of the 19th century Bulgarian Legion regiment which served in the Imperial Russian Army.^[79]

Norway

King of Norway. Also known as the HMKG, the battalion comprises six companies, with the 3rd company, the famous band and drill company, being the premier ceremonial unit in the HMKG, mostly serving its required public duties at Oslo's Royal Palace

.

Poland

The honour guard unit in

Polish Army, Navy and Air Force

) mainly, the Warsaw Garrison and other civil uniformed services all maintain honour guard units of their own, all of which are company-sized.

The

Polish Border Guard

.

Portugal

The main honour guard to the President of Portugal is the Security and State Honours Unit (Unidade de Segurança e Honras de Estado, USHE), which is a part of the National Republican Guard. This formation, of regimental size, includes the Presidential Squadron (Esquadrão Presidencial), the Horse Band, the Guard Marching Band, and the State Honours and Security Group, which is mostly an infantry unit. It carries out its ceremonial duties through armed detachments of guards of honour, normally dismounted. It is a directly reporting unit of the Operations Command of the NRG.^[82]

Romania

Queen Anne of Romania

while she lays in state

Currently, the Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade of the Romanian Land Forces serves as the honour guard brigade of the Romanian Armed Forces. The brigade is present at ceremonial events and during visits from international officials.

The Romanian Gendarmerie also maintains an honour guard unit, called Unitatea Specială de Gardă de Onoare și Protecție Instituțională București (Bucharest Institutional Protection and Honour Guard Special Unit), and a horse guards troop acting during state ceremonies and celebrations of the service.

Romanian Gendarmerie

The first honour guard unit of Romania was established on 1 April 1908 through a

gendarm squadron from Iași into the Royal Escort Regiment.^[83] During King Carol II's rule, over 20 various units of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and an air unit received the title of "guard unit".^[84]

In 1931, a Mixed Guard Brigade was also formed, then transformed into the Guards Division two years later.

Romanian People's Army.^[85]

Russia

The Russian

Imperial Guards served as honour guards for the Russian Empire for many centuries prior to the February Revolution. Russian honour guards have been considered to have laid out the foundation and model for honour guards in the former Soviet Union, and many of the pioneer guardsmen in these units came from the Imperial Guard, who then taught the first generation of honour guardsmen in ceremonial duties. Russia's primary honour guard (Russian: Почётный караул, Pochotny kara-ul) is the Kremlin Regiment of the Federal Protective Service of the Russian Federation

, established in 1936, which is organized into a four battalion regiment, with two battalions designated as guards of honour, one infantry and one cavalry. This regiment is more known for its modern Imperial Guard inspired uniforms, which are worn on more important occasions, these were introduced for the first time in 2004 on the basis of uniforms of the former infantry and cavalry regiments of the Imperial Guards in Saint Petersburg.

The 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment, established in 1979, serves as the official representative honour guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honour guard unit of the armed forces. The duties of guards of honour are the responsibility of the 3rd Guard of Honour Battalion, established in 1990. Military districts and fleet formations of the Russian Navy also have their own honour guard companies. All three branches of the Armed Forces, alongside those of other paramilitary formations, maintain their own honour guard companies. Moreover, a large unit could form an honour guard unit on an ad hoc basis. This was applied by the Honour Guard of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in the 1960s.^[86]

Several military districts of Russian Ground Forces maintain honour guard companies, including the Eastern Military District (formed on 14 December 1971.^[87][88]), the Southern Military District, the Central Military District, and the Western Military District (formed on 20 January 1961 under the command of the 165th Separate Rifle Company^{[89][90][91][92][93]}). In addition to the honour guard companies of the military districts, the Russian Ground Forces also maintain the Volgograd Honour Guard, a unit of the Southern Military District's 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

The Russian Navy maintains a number of honour guard companies, including the Honour Guard Company of the Russian Navy, which represents the entire service. Other naval honour guard companies include those that represent the Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet, the Northern Fleet, and the Pacific Fleet. The Russian Air Force maintains one guard company, the Honour Guard Company of the Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy in Voronezh.^[94]

In addition to the Russian Armed Forces, a number of other Russian departments and agencies also maintain their own respective honour guard companies, including the

Victory Day Parade in Yekaterinburg in June 2020, wearing a special dress uniform that was tailored by individual standards.^[96]

San Marino

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino maintain a well-organized militia force, mostly used for ceremonial duties. Its foremost honour guard unit is the Guardia del Consiglio Grande e Generale ("Guard of the Great and General Council"), but ceremonial duties are carried also by its other units, the Compagnia Uniformata delle Milizie ("Uniformed Militia Company"), the Guardia di Rocca - Compagnia d'Artiglieria ("Guard of the Rock - Artillery Company") and the Guardia di Rocca - Nucleo Uniformato ("Guard of the Rock - Uniformed Unit").

Serbia

The Guard is an honour guard unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. Brigade-size, it is under the direct command of the General Staff. Its main tasks include guarding vital defence facilities and performing military honours to the highest foreign, domestic, and military officials.

For the needs of Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, the Guard performs tasks within the scope of the military police work and the tasks in the field of security and logistics. Guard continues the tradition of the Guard units which is now almost two centuries long. The first Guard unit formed in Serbia was created on the order of Prince Milos Obrenović on Saint George Day in 1830 in Požarevac. The Guard also sports the official military band of the Serbian Armed Forces, the Band of the Guard.

Slovakia

The

Honour guard service is carried out by all units of the Swedish Armed Forces, although the Life Guards Regiment in the Swedish Army accounts for the main part of honour guard services. The Royal Guards (Högvakten) at the Stockholm Palace and the Drottningholm Palace is the honour guard to the King of Sweden. The service is carried out full time by the Life Guards as well as other units of the Swedish Armed Forces including the Home Guard and other voluntary defence organisations.^[99]

The Grenadier company of the Life Guards' guard of honour battalion, the Kings' Guards Battalion, is used as an honour guard at state visit welcoming ceremonies. A detachment of grenadiers is also used as honour guard at the opening of the Riksdag, when an incoming foreign ambassador meets with the King at an audience to present letters of credence and when the King attends an annual meeting of one of the Royal Academies.^[100]

Drabantvakt ("Royal Bodyguard"), commonly known as Karl XI:s drabanter ("The Bodyguard of Charles XI") and Karl XII:s drabanter ("The Bodyguard of Charles XII") is a ceremonial guard used at state occasions such as state visits, investiture of a monarch, royal weddings and funerals etc. The guard was formed in 1860 based on historical royal bodyguards. The design of the uniforms of the guard is based on, but not identical to, uniforms used during the reign of Carles XI and Charles XII respectively. The guard platoon is made up of 24 guardsmen and one officer selected from the Life Guards' King's Guards Battalion.^[101]

Switzerland

Swiss Armed Forces honour guards are based on the German, French and American model for ceremonial drill. Switzerland does not have a professional honour guard unit. The military instead utilizes a battalion-sized capital unit that is used during official visits. Unlike other European countries, Swiss honour guards wear combat uniforms instead of an expected full dress uniform.^[102]

Turkey

Several guard detachments operate within the Turkish Armed Forces. A joint service guard of honour company is in service in the Turkish Armed Forces' headquarters in Ankara, composed of select personnel from each service branch of the armed forces performing honour guard and public duties activities. In addition, the Turkish Armed Forces presently operates another ceremonial guard detachment at Anıtkabir, performing public duties at the mausoleum of the first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The standard rifle used by the guard detachment at Anıtkabir is a M1 Garand.

The Presidential Guard Regiment acts as an honour guard regiment for the Turkish Land Forces, a component of the Turkish Armed Forces.^[103]

Ukraine

The

The NGU National Special Honour Guard Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine is actively in use for many ceremonial activities, and was also in service prior to the disbandment of the Internal Troops of Ukraine in 2014.

United Kingdom

A guard of honour is formed to present formal ceremonial compliments to royal or presidential dignitaries by a guard not exceeding 100 personnel (including three officers, one with a colour) with other particular distinguished individuals saluted by a guard not exceeding 50 personnel. A half guard is a colloquial term describing a guard of honour of not more than 50 personnel (including two officers, one with a colour).^[105] A guard of honour could have a single service contingent (e.g. army) or it could be a tri-service (inter-service) affair. The guard commander, after saluting the dignitary (usually head of state), marches up to him or her and escorts him or her to inspect the guard (soldiers in formation). During the salute, the national anthems of both the dignitary's country and the host country are usually played by a ceremonial band.

Only a

Units that traditionally perform ceremonial duties, such as Guard Mounting (changing of the King’s Guard) or Trooping the Colour, are the five regiments of Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals and Life Guards), which form the Household Division whilst the Honourable Artillery Company form the Guard of Honour when foreign Heads of State visit London.^[107] The Royal Air Force's ceremonial unit is the King's Colour Squadron. The British Armed Forces do not have dedicated ceremonial units other than the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, the Guards and Royal Regiment of Scotland Incremental Companies and the Royal Air Force's King’s Colour Squadron.

The King's Guard is primarily made up of units from the Household Division for royal palaces and public monuments—namely Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Tower of London—and other units from all three services of the British Armed Forces filling in when not deployed; in Scotland, Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle are usually the responsibility of Scottish regiments or units based in Edinburgh.^[108] Occasionally units from Commonwealth militaries are given the honour.^[109]

Vatican City

The de facto military force of the Vatican City State is the Pontificia Cohors Helvetica ("Papal Swiss Cohort"). Popularly known as the Swiss Guard, this 135 strong unit is formed by unmarried Swiss Catholic former servicemen aged between 19 and 30 years, recruited through a special convention with the Swiss Government. While largely performing ceremonial honour guard duties with traditional weapons (halberds, partisans and swords), the Swiss Guard is also equipped with modern military light weapons and trained in proper military and security duties. The Guard provides one of two official procotol bands in the country.

Oceania

Australia

The tri-service

Fiji

The New Zealand Defence Force is represented ceremonially by a unit that is known commonly as the Royal Guard of Honour: a company-sized unit (100 members) that is composed of members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The company is the official honour guard of the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, and the Chief of Defence Force. The company performs most of its public duties at national events such as the Anzac Day commemorations in the capital. The Army portion of the company is notable for its highly distinctive "lemon squeezer" hat.

Sports

Association football

In recent years, association football teams have shown their respect to teams in their own division which have already won the championship of the division with games to spare by forming a guard of honour onto or off the pitch for their players,^[110] an example of which could be seen in the 2019–20 Premier League season, where champions Liverpool F.C. received guards of honour from Manchester City, Aston Villa, Brighton, Burnley, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle after they claimed the Premier League title with seven games to spare. The applauding team forms two lines to make a corridor and the league winners pass through the corridor, generally in single file. The guard of honour is in some instances considered good form to perform but is not considered compulsory and teams may opt not to provide one, as especially tends to happen between teams considered particularly bitter rivals.^[111] For example, Real Madrid CF declined to give bitter rivals FC Barcelona a guard of honour in 2018 when the latter won the league title, and Atlético Madrid declined to give a guard of honour to Real Madrid in 2022 when the latter won the league title, due to the bitter rivalry between the two clubs.^[112]

Jamie Carragher receives a guard of honour before the final match of his career

Leicester City W.F.C. players receives a guard of honour for clinching the 2020–21 FA Women's Championship title

Examples of guards of honour in association football

The same has occasionally been done for individual players meeting particularly momentous points in their career, such as when Scottish Premier league team Rangers squad did so for departing talisman Dado Pršo^[113] and Chelsea controversially^[114] chose to do so in a pre-planned display in the middle of a match for John Terry's last game, causing significant delays to the game.^[114]

Australian rules football

In

In recent times guard of honour is usually done among hockey players for those who have done something valuable for their country like Balbir Singh Sr or Jamie Dwyer.

See also

• Change of command
• Colour guard
• Military rites
• Vigil of the Princes

References