Info on the Spanish Royal Guard

High all. This is a bit random but I'm looking for info in the Spanish Royal guard under the Habsburgs and early (ie pre 1815) Bourbons. The Spanish Wikipedia gave me a few bits of info but not much, so I'm hoping that you guys can help. Basically I'm trying to find out what Regiments made up the Guard, how it was organized and how it evolved over the centuries. Thanks in advance!
 
Infos

According to the Spanish Wikipedia :

The oldest guard unit was the Royal Halberdiers founded in 1504 by Don Gonzalo de Ayora, during the reign of Ferdinand I of Aragon. The denominations of units changed over centuries.
When Philippe V of Spain took power , the Royal Household troops were composed of

1.Los Archeros de la Cuchilla ( a corps dervied from los Archeros de Borgoña, founded by Philippe I of Castile). They are named after this weapon that originated from Burgundy.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archa

2. The Spanish Guard of the Halberdiers ( Yellow company, Veteran yellow company, Veteran company of the estradiotes or lancilla)

3. The German Guard of the Halberdiers


guardias.jpg


From left to right, Spanish Guard, German Guard and "Archer" of Burgundy


Philippe V, reorganized the royal guard after French models :

1. 4 companies of royal bodyguards (on horseback)
2. Two regiments of Foot Guards (Reales Guardias de Infantería)
3. One company of Halberdiers (Reales Guardias Alabarderos)
4. A regiment of Walloon Guards, recruited from Belgium. The Walloons formed an elite unit tasked with the interior security of Spain and the maintenance of public order, eventually being incorporated as a regiment of the Spanish Royal Guard.

Guardia_de_corps.jpg


Royal bodyguards



escanear0001copia.jpg




From left to right:
- Porta-estandarte de la Cía Flamenca de las Reales Guardias de Corps.
- Granadero de las Reales Guardias Españolas y Walonas.
- Soldado del Regimiento de Caballería de Línea España.
- Porta-estandarte del Rgto de Caballería de Línea del Príncipe.



The Royal Ordinance of 1706 concerning of the Corps of Guards ( Guardias de Corps), described their roles and duties to be performed. The infantry foot guards were required to stay on guard duty outside the palace with one company per battalion .

In the reign of Charles III, the regiments were required to provide one company of rifles per battalion of each infantry regiments for court security, each company taking the relay after a year of service. The Halberdiers were responsible for the Palace's inner security. The Royal bodyguards also provided their help to protect the Palace.

Ferdinand VII' s Ordinance of the Royal Guard approved by Royal Decree on November 27, 1829 established the current Changing of the Guard.
 
Thanks! You wouldn't happen to have any info about the Lancilla, would you? I saw them listed on the Bodyguards page on the Spanish Wikipedia but can't seem to find anything about them. Also, any info on the Spanish "Imperial Guards"? Or is that the same thing as the Royal Guard, and was only used when Charles V was King of Spain?
 
What little I can find suggests that they were a separate regiment of soldiers so named for the Lancilla they wore, which appears to be some kind of bandolier but it also seems to be a very rare word so there's practically no information to be found on what exactly they were.
 
Thanks! You wouldn't happen to have any info about the Lancilla, would you? I saw them listed on the Bodyguards page on the Spanish Wikipedia but can't seem to find anything about them. Also, any info on the Spanish "Imperial Guards"? Or is that the same thing as the Royal Guard, and was only used when Charles V was King of Spain?

the Lancilla was a company of the Real Alabarderos during the Habsburg era ( created by Philippe IV) and during the Bourbon era. Each company of Alabarderos was composed of (during the Bourbon era) :


  • 4 officers
    • 1 captain
    • 1 1st lieutenant
    • 2 2nd lieutenant
  • 1 adjutant
  • 100 men (later 150) armed with halberds.
Variations



  • 1 captain
  • 1 1st lieutenant
  • 1 2nd lieutenant
  • 1 1st sergeant
  • 1 2nd sergeant
  • 1 chaplain
  • 1 quartermaster
  • 4 corporals (Cabos de Escuadra)
  • 100 soldiers
  • ? drummers
  • 2 oboists
This site has a lot of info for the Spanish army units during the Seven Years War (Bourbon era) : http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Spanish_Army#Household_Infantry

Imperial Guard was the name of a set of bodies of the kings personal guard of the Spanish monarchy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with the House of Austria, especially in the only period that coincided imperial status (Holy Roman Empire) , ie the reign of Charles I of Spain and V of Germany (1519-1556).

It was composed of the :

1.Yeomen of the Guard ( alabarderos)
2.the archers of Burgundy (from 1506, created by Philippe the Handsome)
3.The German Yeomen Guard ( German alabarderos, since 1519, Charles election as HRE)

4. Other corps were the Yeomen of Castille ( dating back from the days of Isabella the catholic), the Walloon guard and the oldest royal bodyguard unit in Europe ( created in 1006, by the Counts of Castille) : the Monteros de Espinosa : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteros_de_Espinosa

220px-Montero_de_espinosa.jpg


A Montero.
 
It was a pleasure, indeed, I think Spain's glory was blackened...with the Black Legend, so yes I believe this is the main cause why Spain's history has been neglected and why info you would get in 5 minutes need 30 min of research.
 
It was a pleasure, indeed, I think Spain's glory was blackened...with the Black Legend, so yes I believe this is the main cause why Spain's history has been neglected and why info you would get in 5 minutes need 30 min of research.

Its a real shame. Black legend or not, Spain was one of the first Colonial powers, and controlled one of the largest Empires in history. Hell, before French hegemony there was Spanish/Habsburg hegemony. I for one had no clue that Spain/Castile had the oldest Royal bodyguard in Europe. You learn something new every day.
 
Its a real shame. Black legend or not, Spain was one of the first Colonial powers, and controlled one of the largest Empires in history. Hell, before French hegemony there was Spanish/Habsburg hegemony. I for one had no clue that Spain/Castile had the oldest Royal bodyguard in Europe. You learn something new every day.

Indeed, very true, a shame that sometimes only negative aspects are only remembered and receive much more emphasis than positive aspects
 
OK three more more questions (for now anyway). On the Spanish Wikipedia I found info on the Escuadrón de Escolta Real, created by Alfonso XII, that was essentially a Cavalry bodyguard. So was there an Infantry equivalent to this bodyguard or no? Second, was the Lancilla Infantry or Cavalry? Same question for the Walloon Guards as well.
 
No, I don't believe their is an equivalent in the infantry for this regiment, (maybe the foot guards). The lancilla was the surname of an Yeomen company (alabarderos), so it's infantry.THe Walloon Guards were an infantry regiment.

Hope it helps !
 
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