The Grenadier Guards, with full official title "The 1st or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards", is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect the exiled Charles II. In 1665, this regiment was combined with John Russell's Regiment of Guards to form the current regiment, known as the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. Since then, the regiment has filled both a ceremonial and protective role as well as an operational one. In 1900, the regiment provided a cadre of personnel to form the Irish Guards; in 1915 it also provided the basis of the Welsh Guards upon their formation.
- Country
- United Kingdom, Kingdom of Great Britain, Kingdom of England
- Inception
- 1656
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