The King’s Royal Hussars

As a consequence of the end of the Cold War, the Government saw an opportunity to reduce the size of the British Armed Forces, which was carried out under the Study entitled ‘Options for Change’. In the Royal Armoured Corps a number of new regiments were formed by amalgamations. On 23rd July 1991 it was announced that The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) and the 14th/20th King’s Hussars were to amalgamate. Committees of representatives from each regiment were formed and began working on a fair distribution of each regiment’s cherished traditions. It was agreed very early in the conversations that the three pillars of the new regiment should be its name, its colours and its capbadge. For the name, it was decided that dropping the numerals 14/20 and retaining the titles of King’s and Royal was a very acceptable combination. Colours and capbadge were considered of equal importance, and crimson trousers and the Hawk capbadge emerged as a fair solution. After these three vital initial decisions had been accepted by both committees and the Colonels of the Regiments, decisions on other items fell into place rather more easily.

On 10th June 1992, Lieutenant Colonel David Woodd followed in his father’s footsteps and took command of the 14th/20th King’s Hussars during a parade in which both Commanding Officers and the Adjutant were mounted.

The amalgamation took place in Münster, Germany, where both regiments had been based as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade. The amalgamation parade of The King’s Royal Hussars was held on 4th December 1992 in York Barracks, Münster, attended by the Colonel in Chief, Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, and the Colonel of the Regiment, Major General John Friedberger CB CBE. The first Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel David Woodd.