High Constables and Guard of Honour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse

The High Constables of Holyroodhouse are a small corps of ceremonial guards at the Sovereign's official residence in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Not to be confused with The High Constables of Edinburgh, or the High Constabulary of the Port of Leith (Leith High Constables).

Dating from the early sixteenth century, they now parade whenever the Sovereign, or the Lord High Commissioner of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, is in residence.[1][2] They form part of the Royal Household in Scotland.

Law and order at the palace is split between the hereditary Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the Duke of Hamilton), the Bailie of Holyroodhouse and his High Constables. The Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse still appoints the Bailie of Holyroodhouse, who is responsible for law and order within the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary. The High Constables of Holyroodhouse are responsible to the Keeper and enforced the justice of the Bailie. The senior officer of the High Constables is called the Moderator.[3]

Their ceremonial uniform includes a blue velvet suit, a hat and a thin sword in a black leather scabbard.[4]

Also present at the Palace of Holyroodhouse is the Doorward Guard of Partisans, who comprised the personal retainers of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, which was responsible for the Sovereign's safety while in Edinburgh.[5]

References
  1. Bruce, A.; Calder, J.; Cator, M. (1999). Keepers of the kingdom: the ancient offices of Britain. Vendome Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-86565-202-6. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  2. Hoey, B. (1992). All the Queen's Men: Inside the Royal Household. HarperCollins. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-246-13851-4. Retrieved 30 April 2019. If the Yeomen of the Guard can claim to be the oldest military unit in the world, the High Constables of Holyroodhouse have an equally valid claim to be the oldest police force. Their origins ...
  3. Goodman, J.; Ilk, I.M. (1983). Debrett's Royal Scotland. Putnam. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-399-12831-8. Retrieved 30 April 2019. ... who presides over the Abbey Court of Holyrood and over the High Constables of Holyroodhouse and their Guard of Honour mounted on the Sovereign. The Bailie is responsible in principle for maintaining law and order under the Hereditary Keeper.
  4. Books and Bookmen. Hansom Books. 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 30 April 2019. ... give their services for free, as do the High Constables of Holyroodhouse in their blue coats and blackcock feathers.
  5. Country Life. 1963. p. 430. Retrieved 30 April 2019. ... who as Lord High Constable was constitutionally the premier military personage of Scotland as well as the senior Great Officer of the Scottish Royal Household, and whose Doorward Guard of Partisans was the nearest Scottish equivalent to the English Yeomen of the Guard.
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