The King's Life Guard of Foote

The King's Life Guard of Foote
being the regimental & reconstructed history of
King Charles I's own regiment in the English Civil War.

Recruitment

When war broke out in 1642, both King and Parliament were without any standing army. For the Royalists this was a pressing problem, as it was obvious that Parliament could effectively end the war at a stroke if they were able to capture the King. In reality, this was one of the objectives given to Parliament's Captain-General, the Earl of Essex, when he took the field in August 1642, being instructed that by:

"Battle of otherwise, to rescue his Majesty's person, and the Persons of the Prince and the Duke of York, out of those desperate persons who are now about them."

The Lifeguard was among the first regiments raised for the Royal Cause, with recruiting begun in June 1642, while the King was at York. By June 27 there were reported to be 1,000 foot, probably including some of the Yeoman of the Guard amongst the regiment, being intended as a "guard for his Majesty's person." It should be noted, however, that the role of the Lifeguard of Foot was envisioned differently from that of the Lifeguard of Horse. Whereas the primary duty of the latter was the protection of the King's person, the foot regiment was employed as a normal field unit.

The regiment's officers' commissions were probably commissioned and signed while the King was still in Yorkshire in July 1642, and recruited in the weeks leading up to the Edgehill campaign. The commander of the regiment throughout the war was Montague Bertie, Lord Willoughby d'Eresby (1608?-1666), who became Earl of Lindsey in 1642, as well as Lord Chamberlain of England. The senior officers were all men of at least some experience (even Lord Willoughby had been a captain in Dutch service). The Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir William Vavasour (killed 1659), had been a colonel of a foot regiment in the Scots War (Second Bishop's War) of 1640, while Major William Leighton had served as a lieutenant in foreign service before 1639.

Some of the junior officers (such as Captains Thomas Leigh and Thomas Mynne) had seen service on the Continent or in the Scots Wars, while others had fought in Ireland, with having acquired Irish wives. Of course, as was natural for regiments raised during the Civil Wars (on both sides), many officers were simply country gentlemen having no previous military experience. Even some of the rank and file had prior experience, having also served in either Europe or Ireland, and no doubt some having Irish wives as well. While the Lifeguard seems to have had the most experienced cadre of officers of any regiment in the King's Army (not to mention Parliament's), veterans of any rank were hard to come by for either cause in the England of 1642.

While initially the first soldiers were drawn from Lord Willoughby's estates and those of his friends in Lincolnshire, they were supplemented by a contingent of Derbyshire lead miners provided by the great Royalist financier, Thomas Bushall. In August, when the King shifted his headquarters to Shrewsbury, more recruits were provided, including a number of Cheshire men (no doubt mainly in the company of Captain Thomas Cholmondeley of Vale Royal), and it seems that those which saw previous experience in Ireland were enlisted at Cheshire as well. When the Royal Standard was raised in Nottingham (22 August, 1642), Lord Willoughby "brought up from Lincolnshire another excellent regiment, near the same number (1000) under officers of good experience."

There is some reference to the Lifeguard already being in a red uniform at the battle of Edgehill (23 October, 1642), where the regiment would have presented a fairly uniform appearance. The great Royalist financier, Thomas Bushall, made a major financial contribution towards equipping the Lifeguard and three other regiments, and was later thanked by the King for "clothing our Life Guard and three regiments more, with suits, stockings, shoes, and monteros when we were ready to march into the field."