| The Royal Guard performes the State Ceremonial Duties on behalf of the Swedish Armed Forces. It's also guards the Royal Castle and are the Honorary Guard to his Majesty the King. The Change of the Guard is when a military unit performing the Royal guard duties is relieved by another, this takes place every day all around the year at the Royal Castle (see number 1 in the drawing below):
- At 12:15 Monday - Saturday
- At 13:15 Sunday and Holidays
Deviations from this can occur so we recommend you to read the time table for the Change of the Guard that you find under "Change of Guard" below.
Change of the Royal Guard takes place at:
The Royal Palace - Yttre borggården (Outer Couryard)
The Royal Guard has guarde the Royal Castle and the Royal Family since it was founded by King Gustav Vasa 1523. During a large part of this time it has also been a police force in Stockholm.
Today is the Change of Guard at Yttre Borggården (Outer Courtyard) a major turist attraction with more than 1 million visitors every year.
The main Change of Guard takes place at noon every day (see "Change of Guard" above for exact date and time) but then there is also a minor Change of Guard every hour at the 5 Guard Posts around the Royal Castle (see red markers at the drawing below).
The Royal Guard consists of 50-60 men whereof 35 makes up the Royal Guard at the Royal Castle. The remaining performs a Royal Guard duty at the Drottningsholm Castle west of Stockholm where the Royal Family lives..
Would you like to follow the Royal Guard during their march towards the Royal Castle? They come on slightly different routs depending on time of the year and if the march or rides..
Marching Royal Guard:
April 23:rd - August 31:st: The Royal Guard starts at the Armymuseum at 11:45 Mon - Sat and at 12:45 on Sunday and Holidays. If there is no orchestra they will instead start at the Obelisk at Slottsbacken in the Old Town.
November 1:st - April 22:nd: The Royal Guard starts at Mynttorget in the Old Town at 12:09 Mon - Sat and at 13:09 on Sunday and Holidays. If there is no orchestra they will instead start at the Obelisk at Slottsbacken in the Old Town
Riding Royal Guard:
April 23:rd - August 31:st: The Royal Guard starts at Cavalry Barracs at Gärdet at 11:35 Mon - Sat and at 12:35 on Sundays and Holidays.
The different types of Royal Guard uniforms, besides the ordinary military uniforms used by the standard military units, are:
The Royal Dragoons (see photo 1 and 2 to the right)
The Royal Dragoons, also called the riding Royal Guard, are a very popular Royal Guard to see with all the horses etc. They are also allways accompanied by the The Royal Dragoons orchestra which also ride horses. The Royal Dragoons has be performing the Royal Guard since 1906 and will only be possible to see during the summer period.
The Royal Greandiers (see photo 3,4 and 5 to the right)
The Royal Grenadiers are used only at State Visits and other special occasions. One such special occasion is when the Swedish Royal Accademy are in session and the King is invited to participate they perform the guard.
The Kings Body Guard (see photo 7 to the right)
The Kings Body Guard always wear either King Karl XI Body Guard uniform or King Karl XII Body Guard Uniform.
When the Kings Body Guard march they use high lifting of the knees, which is unique among the Swedish military units but was common in the 17-18:th century. Its possible to see the Kings Body Guard performing The Royal Guard duties during the summer period (however maybe only once per season) but they are allways used during the State Opening of the Paliment in September every year..
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