The Royal Company of Archers

The Royal Company of Archers functions as the Sovereign's 'Body Guard in Scotland'.

It performs duties at the request of The King at any State and ceremonial occasion taking place in Scotland. The Royal Company also provided a guard on vigil during Queen Elizabeth II lying-in-state.

The Royal Company's most regular duty is to be in attendance at His Majesty's annual garden party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

About 120 members of the Royal Company form avenues down which The King and Queen proceed while guests chosen at random are presented to them by the Company's Captain-General and President of the Council.

Another major duty is attendance outside St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, at the service of installation of Knights of the Thistle. Members of the Company also attend Investitures at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the presentation of new Colours for Scottish regiments.

Apart from its role as the Sovereign's bodyguard, the Royal Company of Archers still functions as an archery club - the purpose for which it was originally formed in 1676.

In return for being endowed with "perpetual access to all public butts, plains and pasturages legally allotted for shooting arrows", including the grounds at the Palace at Holyroodhouse, the Royal Company is required to present to the Sovereign three barbed arrows on request.

Members of the Royal Company must be Scots or have strong Scottish connections. Membership is by election. The structure of the organisation is divided between officers and members.

By seniority, the officers comprise one Captain-General, four Captains, four Lieutenants, four Ensigns and twelve Brigadiers.

Members of the Royal Company of Archers wear a distinctive uniform. It features a dark green tunic with black facings, dark green trousers with black and crimson stripe, and a Balmoral bonnet with the Royal Company's badge and an eagle feather.

Related content

Press release 10 September 2024

The King and Queen will visit Australia and Samoa

Read more

A message from His Majesty The King congratulating ParalympicsGB and teams across the entire Commonwealth on their successes at the Paralympic Games in Paris.

As this wonderful summer of sport comes to a close in Paris, my wife joins me in sending our heartfelt congratulations to the Paralympian athletes from Great Britain and...

08 September 2024
News

The King visits Southport

20 August 2024
The King views floral tributes in Southport
News

The Royal Family and Sport

28 August 2024
The King meets the West Indies Cricket Team

A message from His Majesty The King congratulating Team GB and teams across the entire Commonwealth on their successes at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Your achievements, across so many disciplines, were forged from that invaluable combination of raw talent, true grit and hard toil over many years, burnished these past weeks...

11 August 2024
Media pack

Financial reports 2023-24

This page details the Royal Household's annual financial statement, the Sovereign Grant Report, for the financial year 2023-24.

Press release 14 July 2024

Autumn tour to Australia and Samoa announced

Read more

A speech by The King for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Senedd.

Over the last twenty-five years, the Senedd has become more than a symbol. It has become essential to the life of Wales. As we look back over the last quarter-century in the...

11 July 2024

The King's message to The England Football Team following their EURO2024 semi-final victory.

My wife and I join all our family in wishing you the warmest congratulations on reaching the final of the U.E.F.A. European Championship - and in sending our very best wishes...

10 July 2024
News

Royal Week 2024

02 July 2024
The King during the Ceremony of the Keys

The Queen's Armed Forces Day Message 2024

You are a source of inspiration, reassurance and pride – and I salute you all.

29 June 2024

The King's speech at the Japan State Banquet

For over four hundred years, our nations have inspired each other, learning from each other’s experience and enriching our industries, cuisines and cultures with elements...

25 June 2024
News

Japan State Visit

25 June 2024
King Charles III laughs with Emperor Naruhito
Press release 24 June 2024

A Statement from Buckingham Palace

Read more
News

Trooping the Colour 2024

15 June 2024
The balcony at Buckingham Palace

Remarks by The King at Presentation of New Colours, Number Nine Company, Second Battalion, The Irish Guards

Every guardsman standing here today is thus the Heir and Successor to the great legacy, the historic customs and fine traditions of your forebears within the Battalion.

10 June 2024

A speech by The King at the D-Day National Commemoration British Normandy Memorial, Ver-sur-Mer, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day

On the beaches of Normandy, in the seas beyond and in the skies overhead, our Armed Forces carried out their duty with a humbling sense of resolve and determination: qualities...

06 June 2024

A speech by The Princess Royal at Bayeux War Cemetery to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings

80 years on, let their memory still live on in our hearts.

06 June 2024

A speech by The King at the UK's National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings

The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity which we have heard today, and throughout our lives, cannot fail to move us, to inspire us, and to remind us of what we owe...

05 June 2024

A message from The King to the United Nations 4th International Conference on Small Islands Developing States

Your future is our future. Our islands, our oceans, our planet and, ultimately, all of us need bold and determined action.

28 May 2024

A speech by Her Majesty The Queen at the Charleston Festival 2024

Books and gardens are faithful friends to whom we can always turn to. They both have the ability to comfort, to cheer and to connect us with people and nature, reminding us...

16 May 2024