Country Hawaii
United States Type Honor guard (current) | Branch Army National Guard Size 42 | |
 | ||
Active 1854–1873
1874–1893
1962-Present Allegiance Kingdom of Hawaii
State of Hawaii | ||
The Royal Guard of the Hawaii National Guard is an Air National Guard ceremonial unit which re-enacts the royal bodyguards of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the 19th Century and disbanded when the monarch fell at the end of the 19th Century. The original 50 men unit was reestablished by King Kalakaua to guard the King; previously the guards had been disbanded by Lunalilo after the barrack mutiny of 1873.
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The current Royal Guards were created in 1962, a unit is made up of Hawaiian resident Hawaii Air National Guardsmen, who are either full Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian ancestry. The current unit is ceremonial unit only and serves the Governor for official State functions and other public functions.
In 1963, the Royal Guards consisted of 14 men and grew to the current strength of 42.