Editing Foot guards (section)

==United Kingdom==
[[File:His Majesty's Foot Guards Art.IWMPST0579.jpg|thumb|An illustration of an [[Irish Guards|Irish]], [[Scots Guards|Scots]], [[Coldstream Guards|Coldstream]] and [[Grenadier Guards]]man. The illustration was created prior to the formation of the [[Welsh Guards]] in 1915.]]
The [[British Army]] maintains five regiments of foot guards. The [[Grenadier Guards]], [[Coldstream Guards]], and [[Irish Guards]] specialise in [[infantry]] and [[light infantry]] roles, while the [[Scots Guards]] and [[Welsh Guards]] specialise in mechanised and light [[mechanised infantry]] roles.<ref name=guardmuseumwork/> The five foot guard regiments form the infantry component of the [[Household Division]].<ref name=guardsmuseumtoday/>

===History===
The oldest foot guards regiment dates back to 1642. Foot guards units have historically been front-line troops, with their ceremonial public duties always being a secondary function. As [[royal guards]] to the [[British monarchy]], the foot guards have accumulated unique privileges and traditions over its existence.<ref name=guardmuseumhist>{{cite web|url=https://theguardsmuseum.com/about-the-guards/history-of-the-foot-guards/|title=History of the Foot Guards|publisher=The Guards Museum|access-date=14 December 2024|website=theguardsmuseum.com}}</ref> The reigning British monarch traditionally serves as the colonel-in-chief of the regiments within the Household Division.<ref name=householddivcere>{{cite web|url=https://www.householddivision.org.uk/ceremonial-events|website=www.householddivision.org.uk|title=Ceremonial Events|year=2024|access-date=15 December 2024|publisher=The Household Division}}</ref>

The three oldest regiments—the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, and Scots Guards—were formed during the [[English Civil War]], while the Irish Guards and Welsh Guards were established in the 20th century. The Irish Guards were created in 1900 after [[Queen Victoria]] was impressed by the actions of Irish units during the [[Second Boer War]]. The Welsh Guards were formed in 1915 by King [[George V]], after it was pointed out that the Household Division lacked representation from [[Wales]].<ref name=guardmuseumhist/> A sixth regiment of foot guards briefly existed after the [[First World War]], the [[Guards Machine Gun Regiment]].<ref name=householddivcere/>

===Public duties===
[[File:State Opening of Parliament 2015 (18165064562).jpg|thumb|The [[Grenadier Guards]] performing [[public duties]] during the 2015 [[State Opening of Parliament]] by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], accompanying her procession to the [[Palace of Westminster]].]]
The regiments of the foot guards are responsible for performing public duties, most notably mounting the [[King's Guard]] at [[St. James's Palace]] and [[Buckingham Palace]], as well as [[guard mounting|mounting]] the [[Windsor Castle]] Guard, and the [[Tower of London]] Guard, all key locations of significance to the monarchy. Although the regiments of foot guards perform the majority of these public duties, they occasionally are supported by other units in the [[British Armed Forces]] and the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref name=householddivcere/>

Historically, the foot guards also manned ten other sentry posts around [[London]], including [[Horse Guards (building)|Horse Guards]], [[Savoy Place|Savoy Prison]], and [[Montagu House, Bloomsbury|Montagu House]].<ref name=householddivcere/>