Members of the Canadian military’s only ceremonial mounted troop got to meet and chat with the King Monday at Windsor Castle.
The 26 soldiers from Lord Strathcona’s Horse, a Canadian Forces tank regiment based in Edmonton, are in England to fill the role of the King’s Life Guard at Buckingham Palace until July 21. King Charles III hosted them Monday at Windsor Castle.
“His Royal Highness invited the mounted troop over for a brief meeting,” Capt. Tom Lauterbacher, the Strathcona Mounted Troop leader, said Monday.
“He made sure that the soldiers were enjoying their accommodations” at Hyde Park Barracks and King’s Guard Barracks, and asked “how we were liking the horses,” Lauterbacher said.
The Canadians are riding horses that belong to the U.K.’s Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
“He knows that it’s a big change between the horses that the Household Cavalry have and our quarter horses that we have in Canada,” Lauterbacher said.
“They’re a lot larger than the horses that we have.”
King Charles was interested in how the soldiers came to be in the mounted troop and whether or not they wanted to stay in the army, said the captain. “He was very personable. He asked a lot of very in-depth questions to get to know the soldiers on more of a personal level.”
Lauterbacher escorted the King while he chatted with the Canadians.
“He talked about how much he missed Canada; how beautiful he thinks it is,” Lauterbacher said. “He wishes he could be able to get out more, but the trip is fairly long
— h
e made the joke.”
They sipped sparkling water and orange juice at the reception.
“The soldiers had a little bit of time to talk and share a laugh with His Royal Highness and then we had to be back on our way to get back to the (guard) duties,” Lauterbacher said.
They are guarding Horse Guards in St. James Park, the original entrance to Buckingham Palace.
The invitation to take on the ceremonial role is a rarity; this is only the third time the job has been done by soldiers from outside the United Kingdom. The invite, which marks the regiment’s 125th anniversary, came from the King himself, who is the Strathcona’s colonel-in-chief.
From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day, two Canadians at a time, wearing dragoon helmets and their regimental colours of scarlet red and myrtle green, do one-hour shifts in guard boxes flanking the palace entrance.
At 4 p.m., there’s “an inspection which dates all the way back to Queen Victoria when she found some of her soldiers who were intoxicated on the job, so she gave them a hundred years of defaulters,” Lauterbacher said.
The hundred years is long past, but the ceremonial inspection still draws large crowds.
The Canadians carry lances while on parade and sabers in the guard boxes.
“Our soldiers do engage if they have to tell a person to, ‘Please don’t touch the tack of the animal,’ or ‘Please don’t enter the box,’” Lauterbacher said. “It’s a safety thing that they’re allowed to engage.”
People who have come to snag photos of the Canadians “have been absolutely fantastic and super respectful,” he said.
One horse “stumbled a little” during the ceremonies, but its “fantastic rider” was able to hold the animal steady so it wouldn’t cause issues with the crowds, Lauterbacher said.
“It’s been a great time so far. The mounted troop has been practicing and getting ready for this for the last few months,” he said. “And now we’re finally getting the opportunity to do it, the soldiers are ecstatic.”
The crowds are immense.
“The soldiers perform in front of thousands of people, but it’s nothing compared to the amount of people that come by (Horse) Guards. The photos, the people that want to come up and talk to everybody. How proud we are to be in front of the world and have everybody here cheering us on. It’s a dream come true for a lot of the soldiers … to be here and to do the job. It’s very busy, but it’s very rewarding.”
In addition to guarding the palace, the Canadian troop goes on morning rides, called Watering Order, through Hyde Park.
“When they’re doing that they can say hello to people and a lot of people are really interested to come up and talk to the Canadians,” Lauterbacher said. “So, it’s been a great time.”
Lord Strathcona’s Horse stood up its mounted troop in 1974 after the original mounted troop stood down in 1939 to man tanks during the Second World War.
“We’re the only mounted regiment in Canada when it comes to the Canadian Armed Forces,” Lauterbacher said.
The soldiers also have to maintain their operational skills should they be deployed in tanks. “They have to train just like any other soldier, while also on the side learning how to ride horses,” Lauterbacher said.
The King donned a Canadian naval uniform earlier this year, which some interpreted as his subtle support for this country as U.S. President Donald Trump mused about making Canada the 51st state.
“I can’t speculate on what the King’s intent is, but I know that he was very happy to have us and host us here and ask the mounted troop to come see him at Windsor Castle,” Lauterbacher said.
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