Buffs (East Kent Regiment)

Royal East Kent Regiment ("The Buffs"); 3rd Regiment of Foot
Badge of The Buffs
Active	1572-1961
Country	Kingdom of England (1572–1707)  Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1961)
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Line infantry
Garrison/HQ	Howe Barracks, Canterbury
Nickname(s)	Howard's Buffs The Old Buffs.
Motto(s)	Veteri Frondescit Honore Latin: "Its Ancient Honour Flourishes"; "Its Ancient Honour is Ever-Green"
Colors	Buff Facings
March	Quick: The Buffs Slow: The Men of Kent
Anniversaries	Albuhera Day (16 May).
Engagements	Corunna (17 January 1809) Albuhera (16 May 1811)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Colonel Charles Churchill (1689–1707) John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll (1707–1713) Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar (1713–1715) Lieutenant-General Thomas Howard (1737–1749) Colonel Sir George Howard (1749–1763).

The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army, being third in order of precedence (ranked as the 3rd Regiment of the line). The regiment provided distinguished service over a period of almost four hundred years accumulating one hundred and sixteen battle honours. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, it was known as the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and later, on 3 June 1935, was renamed the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).

In 1961, it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment to form the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, which was later merged, on 31 December 1966, with the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the Queen's Regiment. This regiment was, in turn, amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment, in September 1992, to create the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).

The origins of the regiment lay in Thomas Morgan's Company of Foot, The London Trained Bands, which was in existence from 1572 to 1648. It fought in the Low Countries during the Dutch Revolt and in the Anglo Spanish War, taking part in many sieges and battles in that time.