Household Cavalry Museum

The Household Cavalry Museum is not just a stagnate place with objects on display. It is fact what is known as a living museum. This is because the existing Household Cavalry guards are still based here and continue to carry out their duties on a daily basis.

The museum is housed in one of London's most famous buildings which dates back to 1750 and from which the Queens guards have performed their ceremonial duties almost unchanged since their beginning in 1661.

Opening Times and Admissions

Horse Guards
Whitehall
London SW1A 2AX
Email: museum@householdcavalry.co.uk

General enquiries: 020 7930 3070

Opening Times:
The museum is open every day
(Closed 22 April and 24- 26 December) Between 10am - 6pm (March - Sept) and 10am - 5pm (Oct-Feb)

Cost:
Adults: £7 (£5 conc.)
Children £5 (aged 5-16)
Family (2 adults & 3 children): £18

One of the attractions of visiting London is seeing some of the pomp and ceremonial glitz which comes with the history of a great nation like the united Kingdom.

Visiting Buckingham Palace and the nearby Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall is the place to come and see this historical splendour. The Household Cavalry Museum sits at the heart of this area and will add to your knowledge of the history and daily lives of the Soldiers of this remarkable regiment who continue to protect the Queen and country today.

Get In Free To This Museum with The london Pass

The Household Cavalry Museum Collection

The Museum contains a stunning amount of items from the regiment's history. This includes:

• Uniforms (both ceremonial and duty)
• Flags better known as Royal Standards
• Medals and awards for bravery
• Musical instruments
• Horse decorations
• Silverware including some designed by the famous jeweller Faberge

As you can imagine all these items come with their own unique history and story. These stories range from the distant past to the present day and will provoke both memories of events such as the bombings in 1982 where horses from the regiment were hurt, to thoughts of battles gone by.

The working stables of the regiment can be viewed from the inside of the household cavalry museum. You will get a glimpse into the daily lives and rigorous training of both the horses and their riders. The stables are a hive of activity all throughout the day so there will always be something to see whatever time you visit.

The Changing of the Guard

One of the other things you will be able to see whilst visiting the museum is the actual guards standing on sentry duty both on foot and on horseback. The guards have to remain silent and relatively still whilst on duty which lasts an hour at a time.

If you want to see the full ceremonial changing over of the guards this is done once a day at:

Mon - Sat 11:00am
Sun - 10:00am

It is the Queen's Life Guard which carries out this ceremonial duty and are very recognisable by their unique and rather glamorous uniforms.

There are separate changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and whose uniforms are quite different and are sporting the bear skin helmets instead of the metal ones displayed at Horse Guards Parade.

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