It has been announced that Wing Commander Andy Calame MVO MBE MA RAF Regt (Retd), and former Equerry to HM The Queen, has been appointed as a Gentleman to the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. He joins Group Captain Mark Driver as the second RAF Regt appointee.
The Corps was formed as the Troop of Gentlemen in 1509 by King Henry VIII to act as a mounted escort, armed with spear and lance to protect the sovereign, in battle or elsewhere. Henry decided to have “this new and sumptuous Troop of Gentlemen composed of cadets of noble families and the highest order of gentry as his personal Body Guard or ‘Nearest Guard'”, cadets being the younger sons of nobles.
As his Body Guard, it accompanied Henry to France in 1513 and took part in the Battle of Guinegate (better known as the Battle of the Spurs) and then at the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520. In 1526, they became a dismounted bodyguard armed with battleaxes. They last saw service in battle during the English Civil War, during which a Gentleman Matthews saved the Prince of Wales at the Battle of Edgehill (1642) from one of the Earl of Essex’s troopers. They were always intended as a primarily ceremonial unit, but were on regular duty until the 19th century. Under Henry VIII, the Troop of Gentlemen varied in size, according to funding available. As the “Nearest Guard” to the Monarch, the unit attracted an aristocratic and aspiring membership, which could be utilised as a cadre of young officers when levies were raised for overseas service.
The Corps today consists of five Officers (the Captain, the Lieutenant, the Standard Bearer, the Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant and the Harbinger) and 27 Gentlemen. The senior Officer is the Captain, a political appointee who is now always the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The senior permanent officer is the Lieutenant. The Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant issues all orders to the Corps. The Harbinger runs the Mess and assists the Clerk. The Mess, at St. James’s Palace, is run by a permanent Axekeeper and Butler also assisted by the house keeper.
Today, the duties are purely ceremonial; the Gentlemen accompany and attend the sovereign at various events and occasions, including state visits by heads of state, the opening of parliament, and ceremonies involving the various orders of chivalry, including the Order of the Garter. The Gentlemen now parade for the opening of parliament, state visits, royal garden parties, the Garter Service, receptions of the Diplomatic Corps, royal weddings, coronations, the Investiture of the Prince of Wales, and lyings in state. They also have three Mess dinners annually.
