Tucked away in the beating heart of London, we find one of Britain’s most iconic landmarks – Horse Guards Parade. Famous for its dazzling ceremonies and remarkable uniforms, the Parade stands as a testament to the fearlessness – and style - of the British soldier. Today, the buildings house the Household Cavalry Museum, a labyrinth of unique treasures and compelling stories collected over the 350 years since the regiment was founded by the extravagant King Charles II. Whale bones, life size portraits, explosion proof pants and Female Nepalese yak hairs shed light on some of the most fascinating stories of British military history. But the Parade does not just live in the past. Mounted on glorious black horses with their breastplates glinting in the sun, the Household Cavalry still guard the Royal Residences today and stable their horses within its walls, while the regiment’s soldiers continue to protect Queen and country in global 21st century conflicts. Access All Areas is a History Hit TV Original series, going behind the scenes of some of the best history locations in Britain. In this episode, curator Alice Pearson regales some of the most weird and wonderful stories from the regiment that has been at the forefront of every major battle of the past 350 years.
Up Next in Season 1
-
Museum of Childhood Creepy Toys
The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green is the UK’s National Museum of Childhood, and the largest institution of its kind in the world. Its mission is to hold in trust the nation’s childhood collections, and by doing so to shed light on the various weird and wonderful toys that have fasc...
-
National Museum of Computing
Our new strand, Access All Areas, will take you behind the scenes at top historical destinations. "Like many people my age - some of my strongest childhood memories are of the exciting new devices called "computers" that started appearing in our homes. I spent hours learning programming on a BBC ...
-
Edinburgh Castle
From its position on Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of this historic city and remains to this day the nucleus of Scotland’s capital. Although we remember it predominantly for its involvement in several conflicts during the medieval period, the castle’s history stretches some ...
