Colours of the Royal Guard 1704-1841 (Spain)

Last modified: 2015-07-28 by ivan sache
Keywords: royal guard | guardia real | castle (yellow) | lion (yellow) | scroll (white) | royal walloon guards | walloon guards | reales guardias valones | cross: saltire (red) | cross: burgundy |
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• King's Colour of the Royal Guard Infantry 1704
• Regimental Colour of the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the Royal Guard 1831-1841
• Regimental and King's Colours of the Royal Walloon Guards c.1734-1760
• Regimental Colour of the Royal Walloon Guards 1760-1815

See also:

• Military Flags 1701-1843 (Spain)
• Spain

Other sites:

• Banderas Militares (Military Flags, Spanish text only) image by Sergio Camero:
  • Guardias ([Royal] Guards)

image by Sergio Camero

This is the coronela flag (King's Colour) of the Spanish Royal Guard Infantry (1704). Together with the Company of Royal Halberd Guards (Reales Guardias Alabarderos) and the Royal Walloon Guards, they made up the Royal Guard's Infantry Units. The proposal for this Colour, made by the Señor de los Cameros to be approved by the King:

...Sr. mío, con la ocasión de estar ajustado el vestuario del Regi.º de guardias Españolas y ser preciso decir al mercante los colores y señales que han de tener las vanderas, represento a V.E. para que lo haga a S.M. a fin de que ordene lo que fuera servido, que haviendo de ser la vandera de la Comp.ª Coronela diversa de las otras se haze forzoso mande S. Magd. como gusta sea, pues siendo este Regimto. de Guardias Españolas y no la cruz de Borgoña la insignia de Castilla. Yo sería de dictamen, que la vandera de la Comp.ª Coronela o fuesse morada, que es color de Castilla con un castillo enmedio y flores de lis en el campo, o fuesse blanca con todas las armas del rey pintadas como traen los vajeles de S. Mgd. y que todas las demas vanderas de las Comps. senzillas fuessen con la cruz de Borgoña según es el estilo de las tropas, y dos castillos y dos leones en los cuatro blancos, sobre que V.E. me expresará la ressoluzión de S. Mgd. Y en este punto yo tubiera por conveniente se dignasse S. Mgd. consultar al Cons.º de Estado..."

Sergio Camero, 29 December 2001 and 08 Feb 2002

image by Sergio Camero |

This Colour was presented to the First Regiment of Grenadiers of the Royal Guard on 10 October 1831 to honour the fact that this was the Royal Guard's eldest regiment. It was used until the regiment's dissoultion in 1841. It was designed after the King's Colour presented to this regiment by King Phillip V in 1704 – in fact the obverse shows a castle. Source: Manzano 1997 [mzn97].

Sergio Camero, 15 Feb 2002

Today I saw some etchings of [Spanish] soldiers and other military figures in XVIIIth Century garb. They where etchings depicting the troops of the Royal House under King Charles III of Spain (1759-1788). Those etchings where like souvenirs from the Library of the Royal Palace at Madrid and bore the coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies on them. As they seemed legitimate enough, I paid more attention and saw three flags, two of which I was able to catch enough details so as to bring them to you.

The first flag was described in the etching as Bandiera Collonella Reali Guardie Vallone [Editor's note: Colonel's Colour of the Royal Walloon Guards, i.e. King's Colour], and consisted of the Burgundy cross on a white field, with four Spanish Royal crowns on the four ends of this saltire. On its centre, the coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (as far as I could tell).

The second was cited under the name of Bandiera dell'altre Comp[e] Re[li] Guardie Vallone [Editor's note: Colour of the other Companies of Royal Walloon Guards, i.e. Regimental Colour], was the same as the above mentioned but on a blue field (this was an etching from an original watercolour drawing, so the tone might be a bit off).

After that, I noticed a flag which I can barely describe (there was light reflecting on the glass protecting the etching). It was some sort of a Guidon paraded by a soldier (of an undetermined rank, I am not good at that) on horseback, consisting of a red field with all sorts of silver embroidery and decoration, and on its centre we could see something like a coat-of-arms of some sort, with the phrase 'SOLUM FORME DINE TERRAE' I believe, encircling a landscape protected by a vigorous and paternal sun, gleaming with sunrays. It said it was the Stendardi, e divisa delle porta-stendardi della Compagnia Spagnola delle Re[li] Granadieri del Corp. [Editor's note: Standard and standard-bearers' motto (or possibly badge) of the Spanish Company of the Royal Grenadiers-du-Corps].

Guillermo T. Aveledo, 29 Dec 1999

image by Sergio Camero

This the sencilla flag (Regimental Colour) belonging to an Infantry Battalion of the Royal Walloon Guards Regiment (1760-1815). The coronela flag (King's Colour) for this regiment was the same, only the field was white instead of purple. The regulations for Line Infantry established that sencilla flags would not bear the royal arms (cf. the Louisiana Infantry 1779-1781 colour). Source: Manzano 1997 [mzn97].

Sergio Camero, 15 Sep 2001