Household Division

Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with the head of state. In the United Kingdom, the most senior infantry and cavalry regiments are respectively known as the Foot Guards, and the Household Cavalry.

In medieval Western Europe, the most able warriors were pressed into service as the personal bodyguards to the monarch and other members of the royal or imperial household; as a result, Household troops are commonly referred to as Guards. From this origin developed the practice of designating a country’s finest military units as forming Household or Guards regiments.

Members of the Household Divisions would accompany the monarch to protect him when he ventured into the public. Hence, as kingdoms grew larger and more politically complex, the Household Divisions naturally became part of the public spectacle of the state. Their uniforms, weapons and even personal attributes such as height were selected to engender awe on ceremonial occasions. The Household Divisions thus developed a tradition of providing a theatrical ceremonial accompaniment to important national events.

The prestige of serving directly with the monarch created an incentive for the Household Divisions to become dominated by members of the upper classes, irrespective of their actual skills as soldiers. From this development comes the association of Household Divisions with wealth, snobbery, and discrimination, which persisted until the middle of the 20th century.

Today, members of the remaining Household Divisions continue to enjoy a certain social prestige within the armed forces and the state at large. They do, however, continue to fulfil their ceremonial roles at state occasions, and to uphold the more enduring traditions of military service.

The Household Division concept is not applied in Australia. In 2000, during the commemoration of the centenary of Australian federation, the Australian Defence Force established Australia's Federation Guard which performs commemorative and ceremonial roles of national significance. It does not have a protective role for the Head of State. Drawing its members from all three services of the Australian Defence Force, the Guard is the first purely ceremonial unit in the history of the Australian Defence Force.

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