Royal Guards (Sweden)

The Royal Guards (Swedish: Högvakten), the Main Guard at the Stockholm Palace is carried out by units of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is the King of Sweden's guard of honour and is responsible for the protection of the Swedish Royal Family. The Royal Guard is normally divided in two parts, the main guard stationed at the Stockholm Palace, and a smaller detachment at Drottningholm Palace. The Royal Guard traces its history back to the early 16th Century, and the unit has continuously guarded the Royal Palace in Stockholm since 1523.

The duty of forming a "Royal Guard" is bestowed upon all serving regiments and occasionally on other detachments of the National Forces (like the Home Guard). However, these detachments only serve for about 5–7 days in each rotation, so the main part of the year, the Royal Guard duty is being performed by the Lifeguards, with traditions and roots from the old Household Brigade and Svea Life Guards and Life Guard Dragoons. The Lifeguards consist of three battalions, one light infantry, one security and one guard battalion.

Between April and August, the mounted squadrons in light blue uniforms and silver helmets and the companies in dark blue uniforms with black helmets of Life Guards can be seen in Stockholm and around the Royal Palace. Accompanied by the mounted band, they depart from the Cavalry barracks in Gärdet and arrive at the Palace around noon (1 pm on Sundays and public holidays) for the changing of the guards ceremony. These events attracts large numbers of tourists each summer.