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The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own)

This armoured regiment was formed in 1969 by merging the 10th Hussars and the 11th Hussars. It served with the British Army until 1992, when it was merged into The King’s Royal Hussars.

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Challenger tank of the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), c1992

Challenger tank of the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), c1992

Origins

The regiment was formed in England in 1969 by merging the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) and the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own), both of which had been raised in 1715.

The new unit operated as heavy armour and was based in Germany throughout its existence, broken only by three deployments to Northern Ireland during the 'Troubles' in the 1970s, and two to England between 1979 and 1991.

Other ranks cap badge, Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own), c1991

Cap badge, Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own), c1991

NBC suit worn by Major Charles Watt, Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), c1990

NBC suit worn by Major Charles Watt, Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), c1990

Its 1979 deployment to England was as a tank training regiment, and in 1983 it became the first ever regiment to switch to the Challenger 1 tank. It also sent a single squadron to West Berlin in 1979, while another was sent to Cyprus in armoured cars in 1990.

Detachments from the regiment also served in Hong Kong, Belize, Canada and America.

Legacy

In 1992, the regiment was merged with the 14th/20th Hussars to form The King’s Royal Hussars.

Regimental museums

The National Army Museum works with a network of Regimental and Corps Museums across the UK to help preserve and share the history and traditions of the Army and its soldiers.

Discover more about The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) by visiting HorsePower Museum in Winchester.