The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief presented a new standard to the Royal Tank Regiment at a parade in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle earlier today.
Dating back to the First World War, the Royal Tank Regiment is the oldest tank unit in the world.
Since the Second World War, the Regiment has deployed to almost every major conflict.
Her Majesty was met in the Grand Reception Room by Major General John Patterson, Colonel Commandant, from there she entered St George’s Hall and proceeded to the dais for the royal salute and the uncasing of the new standard.
“Since the Regiment’s birth, only the Monarch has presented a New Standard and so now, a century later, I take great pleasure in presenting you with your new Standard today.”
Her Majesty presents the @RoyalTankRegt with their new Standard. pic.twitter.com/bGUqAY4Cct
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 25, 2018
The Queen left the dais to present the new standard, before returning to make a short address:
“Major General Patterson, ever since my grandfather King George V visited trials of the early tanks at Elveden in July 1916 there has been an unbreakable connection between the Sovereign and the Royal Tank Regiment. Since the Regiment’s birth, only the Monarch has presented a New Standard and so now, a century later, I take great pleasure in presenting you with your New Standard today.
Of course much has changed since 1916. Technology has evolved, and the Regiment with it. But the Regiment’s reputation for hard work and ingenuity endures. And the bond within tank crews, within squadrons and within the Regiment remains undiminished.
The Standard is the symbol of that bond between the men and women who serve in the Regiment and of your allegiance to the Sovereign and to the Nation. It bears the place-names of the Regiment’s hard-won battle honours and, in an increasingly uncertain world, it serves to remind us of the sacrifices which have been made in the past on behalf of the Nation.
I know that last year’s marking of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Cambrai, where your forebears demonstrated the value of the tank on the battlefield, was an important moment in the history of the Regiment. Now, as we look forward to the challenges of the Regiment’s next one hundred years, I wish you – together with your families – the strength and fortitude to succeed in all you do, as those who have gone before you have always done.
Fear Naught.”
After the parade, The Queen took the official photograph with Officers and Warrant Officers of the regiment, before moving on to the Grand Reception Room to meet members of the regimental family.
The Queen joins @RoyalTankRegt Officers and Warrant Officers for a group photo.
Read more about today's ceremony: https://t.co/AMBynmC2lj pic.twitter.com/ODpT7Tl9uQ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 25, 2018
In May 1958, the Queen, as Colonel-in-Chief, established the award of battle honours to the regiment.
In October 1960, the Queen presented the first standards to the regiment’s eight battalions at Buckingham Palace. During the presentation, Her Majesty noted that her grandfather, King George V, had seen the first tank demonstrated at Hatfield Park in 1916 and was the regiment’s first Colonel-in-Chief.
Since 1960, Her Majesty has twice presented new standards to the regiment since 1960. The first in 1985 in Sennelager, Germany, to the regiment’s five battalions; and in 2008 at Buckingham Palace to the remaining two battalions, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe regiment amalgamated to become The Royal Tank Regiment in August 2014. The standards of the previous two battalions have been carried on parade since then.