Foot Guards In some militaries , foot guards are senior infantry regiment s . Australia . The Federation Guard is a tri - service Australian ceremonial unit that performs similar functions to the five British and two Canadian regiments of foot guards . British Army . Overview . The Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiment s of the Household Division of the British Army . There have been six active regiments of foot guards and one reserve regiment , five of which still exist . The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a reserve formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900 - 1901 . The Machine Gun Guards , which was formed during the First World War , was disbanded in 1920 : While these regiments have other distinguishing features , a simple method of distinguishing members of the different Guards units by their appearance is by the spacing of buttons on the tunic . The ascending number of buttons also indicates the order in which the regiments were formed , although the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards , an ancestor of the Grenadier Guards , is younger than the regiment that now takes the name of the Coldstream Guards ; the oldest continuously - serving regiment in the regular British Army ( there are older regiments in the Territorial Army ) . There are various other distinguishing features of the uniforms of the regiments , such as the colour of the plume , which side it is worn on the bearskin , the collar badge and the shoulder badge . When all five regiments parade together , they are in the order of Grenadier Guards on the right flank , then Scots Guards , Welsh Guards , Irish Guards and Coldstream Guards on the left flank . This is because although the Coldstream are ranked second in seniority , their motto is ' Nulli Secundus ' ( ' Second to None ' ) . The five regiments of Foot Guards , lined up as they parade Units of the Foot Guards . The first three regiments each have a separate incremental company , which keep custody of the colours and traditions of the currently dormant 2nd Battalions . These companies perform ceremonial and security duties in London . The Foot Guards have a role as the primary garrison for the capital , for the military security of the Sovereign , and for ceremonial duties in London and occasionally elsewhere . Two battalions are appointed for public duties , with a third from a line infantry regiment since 1996 ( and occasionally previous to that year ) . These provide the Queen ' s Guard , the Tower of London Guard , and sometimes also the Windsor Castle Guard . The Guards Battalions on Public Duties are located in barracks close to Buckingham Palace for them to be able to reach the Palace very quickly in an emergency . In central London , a battalion is based at Wellington Barracks , Westminster , about 300 yards from Buckingham Palace . However , as of 2010 , the independent incremental companies of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards ( all on permanent public duties ) have been moved from Chelsea Barracks to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich . While F Company , Scots Guards , are now permanently based at Wellington Barracks alongside the resident infantry battalion . The Guards Battalion stationed at Windsor generally provides the Windsor Castle Guard . The Windsor battalion is at Victoria Barracks , a quarter of a mile south of the Castle . The Guards Division received a new battalion following the restructuring of the army in 2004 , when the London Regiment became the first ever Territorial Army Guards unit . The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was in existence during the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1901 . The Guards Machine Gun Regiment was raised for service during the First World War . Initially , each brigade of the Guards Division had a machine gun company attached . In 1917 , these companies were regimented to form a battalion . Further battalions were formed by conversion of the Household Cavalry regiments , and King George V ordered that the regiment be classified as the Sixth Regiment of Foot Guards , or Machine Gun Guards . However , it was disbanded in 1920 . Before the Second World War , Guards recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 10 inches tall , they initially enlisted for seven years with the colours and a further five years with the reserve or four years and eight years . They trained at the Guards ' Depot in Caterham , Surrey . In the future , the Foot Guards will serve in the ceremonial role , and the Reaction and Adaptable Forces . Lance - sergeant rank within Foot Guards . In the Foot Guards , all corporals are automatically appointed to the rank of lance - sergeant on their promotion ; lance - sergeants perform the same duties as corporal s in other regiments and are not acting sergeants , despite their name . The appointment to a separate rank originated in the British Army and Royal Marines , as it could be removed by the soldier ' s commanding officer , unlike a full sergeant , who could only be demoted by court martial . Lance - sergeants first appeared in the nineteenth century , but the practice was abolished in 1946 , except in the Foot Guards and the Honourable Artillery Company . Both sergeants and lance - sergeants wear three rank chevron s , but in full dress , Foot Guards lance - sergeants are distinguished from full sergeants by their white chevrons and button loops ( full sergeants wearing gold along with a red sash over the right shoulder ) . Canadian Army . Two foot guards regiments exist in the Canadian Army , the Governor General ' s Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards . Her Majesty ' s Regiment of Canadian Guards was a regiment of the regular army , with four battalions , but was reduced to nil strength in 1968 . Its Colours are in the safekeeping of the Governor General of Canada at Rideau Hall should it be desired to standup the Regiment again . Although the Governor General ' s Foot Guards has its buttons in pairs , compared to the single buttons of the Canadian Grenadier Guards , it is the more senior regiment ; it is affiliated to the Coldstream Guards , and so wears a similar uniform . Finland . The Guard Jaeger Regiment ( Finnish : " Kaartin Jääkärirykmentti " , Swedish : " Gardesjägarregementet " ) is a Finnish Army unit located in Santahamina , an island district of Helsinki . The regiment trains Guard jaegers for fighting in an urban environment . The Military Police Company of the Guard Jaeger Regiment provides the ceremonial Guard of Honor for the President of Finland . German Empire . There were five regiments of Foot Guards in the Royal Prussian Army until 1919 . India . The Brigade of the Guards is the Indian Army ' s foot guards regiment , formed through the regimentation of battalions from four of India ' s senior line infantry regiments . Sri Lanka . The President ' s Guard is responsible for the security of the President of Sri Lanka . United States . Connecticut . The State Defense Force of Connecticut has two companies of the Governor ' s Foot Guard , a part - time unit that provides ceremonial functions . Other nations . Many other nations have regiments of foot guards in their armies , as the term ' guards ' is an honorific to distinguish elite soldiers . Most monarchies have at least one regiment of guards , part of whose duties is to guard the Royal Family : The same goes for most republics ; for instance : " Other countries that have Guards Units "