NICKNAMES.--(1) The Oxford Blues, _circa_ 1690, from its
Colonel's name, the Earl of Oxford, and in distinction to a blue
habited Dutch Regiment commanded by the Earl of Portland; (2) The
Blue Guards (1742-45) during the Campaign in Flanders; and (3)
The Blues--a present day sobriquet.
NOTES.--This is the only Cavalry Regiment now extant which
formed part of the Parliamentary Army against Charles I., being
then known as Colonel Unton Crook's Regiment. King William
IV. presented the regiment with a Standard emblazoned with
"Dettingen," "Minden," "Warbourg," "Cateau." It wore cuirasses
from 1691 to 1698, and resumed them in 1821.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--_An Historical Record of The Royal Regiment
of Horse Guards, or Oxford Blues._ Its Services, and the
transactions in which it has been engaged from its first
establishment to the present time. By EDMUND PACKE, late Captain
Royal Horse Guards. [London: Clowes, 1834.]
The First (The King's) Dragoon Guards.
[Illustration: THE ROYAL CYPHER WITHIN THE GARTER.]