{"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"u28R38WdMo","rid":"R7EKS5F","offerId":"OF3HQTHR122A","offerTemplateId":"OTQ347EHGCHM"}}
Trending:

Queen meets her own former racehorse at King’s Troop anniversary parade

Eleanor Jones Eleanor Jones

    • A soldier who was on parade when the King’s Troop was created by George VI in 1947 was present when The Queen inspected the troop on its 70th anniversary — as was a former racehorse once owned by Her Majesty.

    Percy Austen, who was serving as C sub-section centre driver when the Queen’s father renamed the Royal Artillery’s riding troop in 1947, was presented with an engraved cartridge case to mark the occasion, in Hyde Park yesterday (19 October).

    Six guns and more than 80 horses and their riders from the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, The Queen’s ceremonial saluting battery, were on parade today (19 October).

    A spokesman for the troop said: “After a royal salute and the National Anthem, parade commander Major Harry Wallace invited Her Majesty to inspect the troop, which she did from a Range Rover.

    “Her Majesty then watched the troop with their guns perform a trot past, canter past, and an advance in review order.”


    Pictures by Corporal Dek Traylor / MoD Crown

    The Queen also met her own former racehorse Knock Castle, whom she has given to the troop to be retrained as a parade horse, and soldiers and veterans including Mr Austen.

    “Her Majesty was shown the first review document signed by her father in 1947 in which he struck out the word “Riding” and inserted “King’s” to name the troop as his own,” said the spokesman, who added that The Queen signed another document to mark the anniversary.

    All soldiers of the King’s Troop, which is stationed in Woolwich Barracks in London, are “superb equestrians” trained to drive teams of six horses who pull the First World War “13-pounder” state saluting guns.

    The gunners are also trained as soldiers and deploy internationally as and when required.

    For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

    Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout major shows like London International and more with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

    Eleanor Jones
    Eleanor Jones

    H&H news editor
    Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
    Eleanor Jones

    You may like...