Her Majesty's Mounted Guards

Her Majesty the Queen's Own Mounted Guards (HMMG) is a cavalry regiment of bodyguards to the Monarch, consort and Royal family in the regimental structure of the Royal Army. Though its role is described by the Royal Army as being mostly ceremonial, it has been suggested by some that it acts as the national military intelligence and security service of Great Nortend.

Kitterham pamphlet

In 2008, an unidentified source sent to major newspapers and MPs a pamphlet allegedly describing the covert operation of the regiment. Described as being discovered in documents owned by a former officer in the regiment who had passed away then recently, it named several operations which had allegedly taken place since the 1980s by agents of the HMMG.

It also described the existence of an underground system of tunnels in Lendert-with-Cadell which connect the Palace of St Michael'sgate with Fettercourt, the Castle of Lerdenstone, the Castle of Hameford and several other important government buildings. In 2013, building works near Yortsal Barracks, a few miles east of Lendert-with-Cadell, uncovered a large tunnel deep underground apparently leading from the Barracks towards Lendert, lending credence to the proposition.

The Erbonian Government have denied the existence of any covert functions of the HMMG, stating that it is a royal bodyguard regiment with an additional administrative role. It declined to elaborate on the nature of its administrative work, however, and many people continue to believe that it has an undisclosed role.

Structure

The regiment is structured in five troops. Of these, only Troop II retains its protective functions of serving as the bodyguard to the Queen and senior members of the Royal family. Other troops are described as having administrative functions, although what this entails is not public.

These are theorised to be assigned specific tasks in relation to intelligence. The Kitterham pamphlet claims that Troop I ('The Chewsham Troop') is responsible for foreign intelligence gathering and influence and Troop II ('The Wrenton Troop') for domestic security and intelligence. Troop III is believed to be responsible for supplying maps, logistics, and scientific, technical and weapons intelligence. Troop IV's and V's roles are unknown, but may be some forms of communications, signals and information intelligence.

The head of the regiment is the Colonel of Her Majesty the Queen's Own Mounted Guards, a position held by Colonel Sir Thomas St George since 1999. The regiment includes both officers and other ranks. Officer ranks are Cornet, Lieutenant, Captain, Major and Commandant. Other ranks are Guardsman, Utter Guardsman, Inner Guardsman and Serjeant of the Guard.

Traditions

All troops participate in ceremonial duties, especially in the annual Privy Parade on Whitsunday. When on parade or on ceremonial duties, guardsmen wear full ceremonial armour with helmets covering their face. According to the Kitterham pamphlet, this is to prevent the identification of agents. However, it is likely that actual operational agents do not participate in ceremonial occasions.