Royal Horse Guards, Blue, Officer, 1828

One of 10 lithographs by M Gauci after E Hull, 1828. Published by Engelmann, Graf, Coindet and Company, 1828.

The Royal Horse Guards were part of the Household Cavalry alongside the two regiments of Life Guards. All three formed part of the sovereign's bodyguard. During the reign of King Charles II the Royal Horse Guards were known as the Earl of Oxford's Regiment. As the regiment's uniform was blue at the time, it was nicknamed 'the Oxford Blues', from which it derived the famous nickname the 'Blues'.