1st King's Dragoon Guards

1st King's Dragoon Guards
1st King's Dragoon Guards Cap Badge
Active	1685–1959
Country	England (1685–1707)  Great Britain (1707–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1959)
Branch	British Army
Type	Armoured cavalry (later) Dragoon King's Guard
Role	Anti-tank warfare Armoured reconnaissance Artillery observer Bodyguard Cavalry tactics Close-quarters battle Counterinsurgency Direct fire Force protection Jungle warfare Maneuver warfare Patrolling Raiding Reconnaissance Shock tactics Urban warfare
Size	Regiment
Nickname(s)	Bland Dragoons, The KDGs, The Trades Union, The Kings Dancing Girls
March	Quick: Radetzky March Slow: The King's Dragoon Guards
Commanders
Ceremonial chief	Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria

The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a armoured cavalry and dragoon guard regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed the 2nd King's Own Regiment of Horse in 1714 in honour of George I. The regiment attained the title 1st King's Dragoon Guards in 1751. The regiment served as horse cavalry until 1937 when it was mechanised with light tanks. The regiment became part of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939. After service in the First World War and the Second World War, the regiment amalgamated with the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) in 1959 to form the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards.