The 9th/12th Royal Lancers Cap Badge: History, Symbolism and Collecting Guide
Introduction
The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) was formed on 11 September 1960 by amalgamating the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). Its cap badge records that union directly: crossed lances identify the lancer tradition, the Prince of Wales's Badge comes from the 12th, and the IX–XII scroll preserves both regimental numbers.
The regiment existed until 2 May 2015, when it amalgamated with The Queen's Royal Lancers to form The Royal Lancers.
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Who Are the 9th/12th Royal Lancers?
The 9th/12th Royal Lancers was a Royal Armoured Corps regiment. Its role changed during its 55-year existence: it served first in armoured-car and tank roles, became the RAC Training Regiment in 1969, returned to Germany as an armoured regiment in 1971 and converted to armoured reconnaissance in 1979.
Its two antecedent regiments had both been raised in 1715. Their histories, honours and traditions were inherited by the amalgamated regiment and later passed to The Royal Lancers in 2015.
Key Dates: A Timeline of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1715 | The future 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) are raised as dragoon regiments during the First Jacobite Rising. |
| 1768 | The 12th receives the Prince of Wales's title, motto and crest. |
| 1816 | Both regiments convert to lancers. |
| 1830 | The 9th becomes the 9th (or Queen's Royal) Lancers in honour of Queen Adelaide. |
| 1960 | The two regiments amalgamate at Tidworth on 11 September to form the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). |
| 1962–1963 | The new regiment serves in Aden in an armoured-car role. |
| 1969–1979 | Returns to Britain as the RAC Training Regiment in 1969, goes back to Germany as an armoured regiment in 1971 and converts to armoured reconnaissance in 1979. Squadrons also undertake tours in Northern Ireland and Cyprus. |
| 1991–1992 | D Squadron deploys to the Gulf War as reinforcements; the following year B Squadron deploys to Bosnia. |
| 1998–1999 | The regiment serves in Bosnia before returning to Germany. |
| 2003–2008 | Squadrons serve in Iraq in 2003–04, 2005–06 and 2008. |
| 2011 | The regiment deploys to Helmand on Operation HERRICK 14, using CVR(T), including the upgraded Scimitar Mk 2. |
| 2015 | Amalgamates with The Queen's Royal Lancers on 2 May to form The Royal Lancers. |
Origins of the Regiment
Both the 9th Dragoons and the 12th Dragoons were raised in 1715, during the first Jacobite rising and the early years of the Hanoverian succession. Their separate histories continued until their amalgamation in 1960.
Both regiments served during the Napoleonic period. In 1816 they were converted to Lancers, adopting the lance and the square-topped czapka associated with lancer dress.
The 12th Royal Lancers received a particular distinction that would define their identity for generations. In 1768, they were granted the right to bear the Badge of the Prince of Wales — three ostrich feathers issuing from a coronet, with the motto Ich Dien — marking them as the Prince of Wales's own regiment. The 9th received their own royal distinction in 1830, when they were designated the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, a title linked to Queen Adelaide, consort of King William IV.
The two antecedent regiments accumulated separate campaign histories before amalgamation. By the Second World War both had been mechanised, and their later service formed part of the armoured-cavalry tradition inherited by the 9th/12th.
On 11 September 1960, the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) came together at Tidworth to form the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). The new regiment inherited the Prince of Wales's distinction from the 12th and the histories and honours of both predecessors.
The Czapka
When the 9th and 12th were converted to Lancers in 1816, they adopted the czapka (also spelled chapka), the square-topped headdress associated with Polish lancer tradition and later adopted by several European armies.
The czapka became the characteristic headdress of British lancer regiments. On the later 9th/12th badge, the crossed lances and pennons refer directly to that lancer identity established in the nineteenth century.
Badge Symbolism
The National Army Museum describes the other-ranks cap badge as two crossed lances with pennons, St Edward's Crown between them, the Prince of Wales's feathers below, and a scroll bearing IX–XII. The design is therefore a direct visual record of the regiment's lancer identity and 1960 amalgamation.
Crossed Lances with Pennons
Two crossed lances with pennons form the background of the badge. They identify the regiment as a lancer formation and refer to the conversion of both predecessor regiments to lancers in 1816.
The Crown
The regiment existed entirely during the reign of Elizabeth II, and its recognised service cap-badge pattern uses St Edward's Crown. A Tudor-Crown lancer badge therefore belongs to an earlier predecessor pattern rather than to the 1960–2015 9th/12th Royal Lancers badge.
The Prince of Wales's Badge
The Prince of Wales's Badge — feathers, coronet and the motto Ich Dien — was inherited from the 12th Royal Lancers, which received the Prince of Wales's title, motto and crest in 1768.
The Roman Numeral Scroll: IX–XII
The scroll at the base carries IX–XII, preserving the numbers of the two regiments amalgamated in 1960. It is the most explicit statement of the merger in the badge design.
Operational History: 1960–2015
The regiment's service moved through armoured-car, tank, training and reconnaissance roles. It served in Aden and Germany in the 1960s, undertook tours in Northern Ireland and Cyprus, and converted formally to armoured reconnaissance in 1979. D Squadron served as Gulf War reinforcements in 1991, followed by service in Bosnia and later the Balkans.
Iraq and Afghanistan
Squadrons served in Iraq in 2003–04, 2005–06 and 2008. The regiment then deployed to Helmand on Operation HERRICK 14 in 2011. MOD reporting from that tour records 9th/12th Royal Lancers using upgraded Scimitar Mk 2 vehicles for reconnaissance, convoy security and overwatch in Nahr-e Saraj.
The 2015 Amalgamation
On 2 May 2015, the 9th/12th Royal Lancers amalgamated with The Queen's Royal Lancers to form The Royal Lancers. The successor regiment carries forward the histories and traditions of both formations.
Collecting the 9th/12th Royal Lancers Cap Badge
For collectors, the badge has a clearly defined regimental period from 1960 to 2015. Crown type is especially useful: authorised 9th/12th badges belong to the Elizabeth II period and therefore use St Edward's Crown, while King's Crown lancer badges belong to the predecessor regiments.
Officers' Badges
Officer and other-ranks patterns can differ in material, construction and fittings. Identification should be based on documented pattern and manufacture rather than an assumption that sharper or more elaborate examples must be officers' badges.
Other Ranks' Badges
National Army Museum collections include an other-ranks example from about 1960. Material, die detail and reverse fittings may vary between issues, so comparisons should be made with documented examples rather than with a single assumed standard.
Staybrite Examples
Anodised-aluminium examples belong to the post-war manufacturing history of British Army insignia. Finish alone should not be used to assign a date or rank.
Reverse Fittings
Reverse fittings are useful supporting evidence, but fittings may be repaired or replaced. They should therefore be assessed with the front die, material, dimensions and provenance rather than used as a stand-alone authenticity test.
Provenance and Authenticity
Named documentation, service photographs and other records can establish useful provenance and should be kept with the badge. No single feature proves originality: die detail, dimensions, material, fittings and provenance should be compared with documented museum examples.
Displaying and Preserving the 9th/12th Royal Lancers Cap Badge
Original badges are best kept in a stable, dry environment away from direct sunlight, using inert and non-abrasive mounting materials. A lineage display can usefully place a 9th/12th badge alongside predecessor examples from the 9th and 12th Lancers and the post-2015 Royal Lancers badge.
Precision Military Emblems produces officially licensed 9th/12th Royal Lancers display pieces using MOD-approved artwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the badge display IX–XII?
IX–XII represents the two predecessor regimental numbers, 9 and 12. The scroll records the 1960 amalgamation directly in the badge.
Why do almost all 9th/12th badges have the Queen's Crown?
The regiment existed from 1960 to 2015, entirely during the reign of Elizabeth II. Its recognised service cap-badge pattern therefore uses St Edward's Crown.
Why is there no King's Crown version of the 9th/12th badge?
The amalgamated 9th/12th Royal Lancers never served under a king. Tudor-Crown lancer badges should therefore be identified against the predecessor regiments rather than attributed to the 1960–2015 regiment.
What happened to the regiment in 2015?
On 2 May 2015, the 9th/12th Royal Lancers amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Lancers to form The Royal Lancers. This was part of the British Army's Army 2020 restructuring programme. The Royal Lancers carry forward the battle honours, traditions and royal associations of all the lancer regiments that preceded them, including the 9th/12th. The Royal Lancers Museum at Derby holds significant collections relating to the regiment's history.
What role did the regiment perform?
The regiment served in several roles. It became an armoured reconnaissance regiment in 1979 and later used the CVR(T) family extensively, including on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Amalgamation into The Royal Lancers
The cap badge remained in use until the regiment amalgamated in 2015. Its crossed lances, St Edward's Crown, Prince of Wales's Badge and IX–XII scroll make the 1960 amalgamation visible in the insignia itself.
In 2015 the 9th/12th Royal Lancers amalgamated with The Queen's Royal Lancers to form The Royal Lancers. The earlier regiment's traditions and honours were carried into the new formation.
As a result, surviving 9th/12th badges can be dated within a relatively narrow regimental period and read directly against the history of the 1960–2015 regiment.
Further Reading
- The Royal Lancers — 9th/12th Lancers History (Official)
- The Royal Lancers Museum, Derby
- National Army Museum — 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's)
- National Army Museum — 9th Queen's Royal Lancers
- The Royal Lancers — Amalgamation 60th Anniversary
- Kipling, A.L. and King, H.L., Head-Dress Badges of the British Army — the standard reference for British military cap badges
- Frederick, J.B.M., Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978
Officially Licensed Emblems & Heritage Displays
Precision Military Emblems produces officially licensed 9th/12th Royal Lancers display pieces using MOD-approved artwork.
9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's)
View our 9th/12th Royal Lancers Cap Badge and our 9th/12th Royal Lancers Cap Badge Display Frame.
The historical material above explains the service badge and regimental lineage separately from the licensed display products.
Intellectual Property of the Secretary of State for Defence is used under licence. Every item is produced for commemorative and display purposes and is not an official issue military insignia.
About Precision Military Emblems
Precision Military Emblems produces officially MOD-licensed 3D-printed British military badge display pieces and framed heritage displays in Leicestershire. The Military Heritage series is researched from regimental, museum, government and institutional sources.
Related Military Heritage Articles
The 9th/12th Royal Lancers draws its lineage from some of the most distinguished cavalry regiments in British Army history. Readers with an interest in the regiment's heritage will find the following Military Heritage articles particularly relevant:
- The Royal Armoured Corps is the parent corps of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers and provides the organisational framework within which the regiment served. Our Royal Armoured Corps Cap Badge: History, Symbolism and Collecting Guide explores the corps that unites Britain's cavalry and tank regiments.
- The Royal Dragoon Guards is a fellow regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps with a similarly distinguished amalgamation history. Our Royal Dragoon Guards Cap Badge: A Symbol of British Cavalry Heritage explores another regiment formed from the union of historic cavalry traditions.
- The Royal Tank Regiment is a fellow regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps. Our Royal Tank Regiment Cap Badge: History, Symbolism and Collecting Guide tells the story of the regiment that pioneered British armoured warfare.
- The Royal Lancers is the successor regiment formed in 2015 through the amalgamation of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers and the Queen's Royal Lancers, carrying forward the traditions of all the British Army's lancer regiments.