Royal Welsh

The Royal Welsh
Cap badge of the Royal Welsh
Active	1 March 2006–
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	1st Battalion – Armoured Infantry 3rd Battalion – Army Reserve
Size	Two battalions
Part of	Prince of Wales' Division
Garrison/HQ	RHQ – Cardiff 1st Battalion – Tidworth 3rd Battalion – Cardiff
Motto(s)	"Ich Dien" (German) "I Serve"
March	Quick – Men of Harlech Slow – Forth to the Battle
Mascot(s)	Persian Goat (Shenkin III)
Anniversaries	St David's Day – 1 March
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	Elizabeth II
Colonel of the Regiment	Brigadier Philip M. L. Napier, OBE
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Hackle	White (ORs only) From Royal Welch Fusiliers
Abbreviation	R WELSH

The Royal Welsh (R WELSH) (Welsh: Y Cymry Brenhinol) is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army. After the restructuring and reorganisation of the army in 2006, the Royal Welsh is one of three regiments to trace its lineage and draw its recruits primarily from Wales.

The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry and it was actually formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. The Royal Welsh initially consisted of two Regular Army battalion, plus an Army Reserve battalion. The former regiments formed part of the battalion title (in brackets):

The 1st battalion deployed to Afghanistan in October 2007, October 2009 and April 2012.

In July 2007 the 2nd battalion deployed to Iraq and between 2009 and 2011 the battalion deployed companies to Afghanistan.

The 2nd battalion merged with 1st battalion to form a single battalion, the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh on 2 April 2014.

The 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh is a Regular Army armoured infantry battalion based at Tidworth Camp. It comes under 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.

The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh is an Army Reserve light infantry battalion based at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff, with company locations in Swansea, Pontypridd, Aberystwyth and Colwyn Bay. Paired with 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, it comes under 11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East.

The regiment's cap badge is a representation of the Prince of Wales's feathers (formerly the cap badge of the Royal Regiment of Wales), while the hackle of the Royal Welch Fusiliers is worn by all NCOs and Other Ranks. HM The Queen is the new regiment's Colonel-in-Chief.