Regimental Colonels The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own)

Ceremonial Titles

Colonel-in-Chief

Colonel-in-Chief is distinct from the ceremonial title "Colonel of the Regiment". The position is usually held by a member of the Royal Family who acts as a patron to the unit. Although they do not have an operational role, they are kept informed of all important activities undertaken by the regiment and pay occasional visits to its operational units. The chief purpose of a Colonel-in-Chief is to maintain a direct link between a given regiment and the British Royal Family. The Lancers have an incredibly rich history of Royal Colonels.

Colonel of the Regiment

This ceremonial position is often conferred on retired General Officers, Brigadiers or Colonels who have a close link to a particular regiment. When attending functions as "Colonel of the Regiment", the titleholder wears the regimental uniform with rank insignia of (full) Colonel, regardless of their official rank. A member of the Royal Family is known as a Royal Colonel. A Colonel of the Regiment is expected to work closely with a Regiment and its Regimental Association.

The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. The 16th Queen’s Lancers had the Motto Aut cursu, aut cominus armis (Either in the charge or in hand-to-hand combat).

In 1905, Field Marshal His Majesty King Alfonso of Spain became the Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment. He held this role until his death in 1941.

A Family Regiment

Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand MC & Bar DL (a Cavalry Leader of the First Order)

Bruce Shand was born in London on 22nd January 1917, the son of Philip Morton Shand and Edith Marguerite Harrington, was educated at Rugby, with his main interests being fox hunting, polo and reading. Shand came from a military and mercantile background, but no one had served since the First World War, and he had no real martial interests as a boy. After leaving Rugby there was a ‘tacit family agreement’ that he would join the Army for a few years. Shand entered Sandhurst in 1935, where he eventually ‘passed out lower than he passed in’, and was commissioned into the 12th Lancers as a second-lieutenant on 28th January 1937.

"It stood out that his troop was one of the best and that, on manoeuvre, he was the ablest of them all. I had supreme faith in Bruce, for I was confident that in a pinch he would never lose his head. He could be depended upon to do the right thing." - The Squadron Agent de liaison on meeting Shand.

War was declared on 10th May 1940, and during the first 21 days in action Shand served with distinction winning the Military Cross. Shand along with the Regiment was eventually evacuated from Dunkirk on 31st May 1940.

After a period with the Regiment in Poole and in Reigate, and a period training the Northern Irish Horse (NIH) in Northern Ireland, Shand was sent with the Regiment to North Africa in September 1941 as part of the 7th Armoured Division, where he was promoted to the temporary rank of captain. It was in Libya that he earned his second Military Cross in January 1942.

the citation read:

Shand, commanding the half Squadron 12th Lancers, handled his small force with great skill and coolness under heavy fire, and not only was he largely responsible for the successful withdrawal of the 1/6 Rajputana Rifles, but also succeeded in organizing the evacuation of some twenty Armoured Cars from T.D.S. finally carrying away on his own vehicles the hundred men of the Indian Pioneer Company, who otherwise would have undoubtedly fallen into enemy hands. Throughout the operations in Libya, Captain Shand has constantly proved himself a Cavalry Leader of the first order.

On 6th November 1942, on a probe towards Marsa Matruh, Shand’s vehicle was surrounded and destroyed. Shand's two crewmen were killed, and he was wounded. He was captured and taken to Germany as a prisoner of war. After treatment in Athens, he was held at Oflag IX A in Spangenberg Castle.

After his liberation, Shand returned to England in 1945. Due to his wounds, which made him unfit for active service, he was retired from the army on 25th April 1947, leaving with the honorary rank of major.

After his liberation, Shand returned to England in 1945. Due to his wounds, which made him unfit for active service, he was retired from the army on 25th April 1947, leaving with the honorary rank of major. On 2nd January 1946, he married the Hon. Rosalind Maud Cubitt, daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe at St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge. They had two daughters, Camilla (b. 1947), Annabel (b. 1949) and a son, Mark (1951–2014).

Shand was a Deputy Lieutenant of Sussex, and vice-Lieutenant of East Sussex from 1974 until 1992. He remained passionate about fox hunting, and was Master of Southdown Fox Hounds from 1956 to 1975. He was Exon and later Adjutant and Clerk of the Cheque of the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard.