The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the King's Bodyguard for Scotland or, more often and colloquially, The Royal Company. It is located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The Royal Company of Archers has a long history in Scotland as a body that celebrated both the recreation and talent of local archers. As a body established by the Monarch, the company has a long history of unique prizes, influential supporters, and ceremonial roles. It has an associated charity, the Royal Company of Archers Charitable Trust, dedicated to helping disadvantaged individuals with their health and wellbeing in Scotland.
Early history During the 17th and 18th centuries in Scotland, a muster or military rendezvous, called a "wapinschaw" () was held at least twice a year. Men were summoned by the sheriff and other civil magistrates to attend a muster in their respective counties at least 20 days in advance of the meeting. The civil magistrates, in conjunction with commissioners appointed by the King, supervised this body of militia, divided it into companies, and appointed captains. People of all stations were obligated to play their part in each rendezvous and to show up equipped in military kit that conformed to their respective ranks. The Lords and Barons were required to provide a list of the members of their company and the weapons they brought with them to the civil magistrates and King's commissioners. The commissioners then compiled a list of the whole muster, which was presented to the King.Hugo Arnot, The history of Edinburgh, from the earliest accounts, to the year 1780, Edinburgh, 1816, p. 272
By using the old laws of wapinschaw, the Jacobites formed a plan to institutionalise a military corps, under a pretext of sports and recreation, that could be assembled by an authority as occasion offered. A society for encouraging and exercising archery had already been formed in 1676, as a private archery club. This society sought and acquired the patronage of the Scottish Privy Council, which provided a prize that was shot for by the company's members. The company consisted of distinguished nobles and gentlemen of the day. The Marquis of Athole was the company's Captain-General in 1670; and they held frequent meetings during the reign of the royal brothers. No traces of this company exist for some time after the Glorious Revolution. Upon the accession of Queen Anne, and death of the Marquis of Athole, they appointed Sir George Mackenzie, then Lord Tarbat and Secretary of State, and afterwards Earl of Cromarty, their Captain-General.
Having chosen a new leader, the society obtained from Queen Anne a charter under the Great Seal of Scotland, establishing it as a corporation by Letters Patent, dated 31 December 1713 into a Royal Company.Charles-Simon Favart, The Waverley anecdotes: Illustrative of the incidents, characters, and scenery, described in the novels and romances of Sir Walter Scott, Bart., Volume 1, London, 1833, p. 364 These letters of patent revived and ratified, on their behalf, the old laws and acts of Parliament that favoured archery;In 1511, Henry VIII confirmed previous laws against illegal games in favour of archery gave them power to admit members; choose a President and council; appoint commanding officers; to meet and act under their officers' supervision in military form for weapon-shawing as often as they should think convenient; and prohibited the civil magistrate from interrupting their activities. These rights and privileges were designed after the mode of feudal tenure, and to hold them in blanch fee (reddendo) of Her Majesty and her successors, therefore annually acknowledging a pair of barbed arrows. The society received these rights and privileges in its charter from Queen Anne in 1704.Frank Adam, Thomas Innes, The Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands, 1934, p. 330 In return for being endowed with "perpetual access to all public butts, plains and pasturages legally allotted for shooting arrows", the Royal Company is required to present to the Sovereign three barbed arrows on request.
The first such weapon-shawing was held on 14 June 1714, with the Marquis of Athole as the company's Captain-General, even though he was in his 80s by this time, and the Earl of Wemyss as Lieutenant-General at the head of about 50 archers.Hugo Arnot, The history of Edinburgh, from the earliest accounts, to the year 1780, Edinburgh, 1816, p. 273 On that occasion, the society shot a silver arrow, presented to them by the City of Edinburgh, at Leith. By the following year, the company had doubled in number and was led by David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss after the death of the Marquis of Athole.Hugo Arnot, The history of Edinburgh, from the earliest accounts, to the year 1780, Edinburgh, 1816, p. 275
After the Jacobite rising of 1715, no parade was held for nine years, but they resumed under James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton on 4 August 1724 at Musselburgh.The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 102, Part 1, p. 421 However, after 1734 public parades were discontinued until the Napoleonic Wars were over.
Traditions The Royal Company's traditions relate to its reason for formation, the archery competition. To further this, it offers thirteen prizes that were at some time in the past competed for annually. Many are retained to the present day.
The Musselburgh Arrow The tradition of shooting the silver Musselburgh Arrow, a small arrow presented by the town of Musselburgh in 1603, predates the creation of the Royal Company and follows in the traditions of other burghs of Scotland. A new, large arrow was presented in 1713.Charles Lowe, The Graphic, The Royal Company of Archers, 9 August 1902, p. 184 The victor of the shooting retains the arrow for a year, and on handing it over to the next victor appends a medal to the arrow with an engraved personal motto, all of which are held by the Royal Company. One hundred and three such medals were held by the company by 1816.
Three Arrows By the 1820s, three more arrows were also presented by the cities of Peebles (1626), Selkirk (1675)Sir Walter Scott delivered the arrow into the hands of the Royal Company of Archers in 1818 and Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh Arrow was presented by the City of Edinburgh in 1709, and the medals appended to it are in gold. The winner was at one time entitled to a prize of five pounds Sterling from the city, but this fell into abeyance after 1716. The 'Edinburgh Arrow' is an annual competition competed for at the nearby Bruntsfield Links.Robert Huish, The public and private life of His late...Majesty, George the Third, London, 1821, p. 495 It is the rule of the prize "1. That the said Silver Arrow be shot for at the rovers in Leith Links, upon the second Monday of June yearly, at ten of the clock in the forenoon if the day be favourable; and if not, that the shooting be adjourned to the next fair Monday."Sir Paul James Balfour, The History of the Royal Company of Archers: The Queen's Body-guard for Scotland. W. Blackwood, 1875, p. 315 16 June 2009 marked the 300th anniversary of the first competition for The Edinburgh Arrow.
The three arrows are now depicted on one of the standards. Until the institution of the third prize, only a pair of arrows was presented to the Sovereign on demand,Hugo Arnot, The history of Edinburgh, from the earliest accounts, to the year 1780, Edinburgh, 1816, p. 274 this now increased to three.
The Silver Punch Bowl and Ladle The fifth prize is The Silver Punch Bowl and Ladle presented to the company in 1720, and likewise had medals appended to it by its winner.Hugo Arnot, The history of Edinburgh, from the earliest accounts, to the year 1780, Edinburgh, 1816, pp. 273–274 The Bowl made to the value of £20, and the bill for its construction and the engraving on it came to £22, 13s. 9d. sterling. It had inscribed on one side the common seal of the company, and on the opposite side the reverse of the seal; and between those, on one side a Saint Andrew, and on the other the following inscription: "Edinburgh, 20th June 1720. — The Councill of the Royall Company of Archers, viz., Mr David Drummond, Praeses, Thomas Kincaid, John Nairn, James Ross, Robert Lowis, John Lowis, John Carnegy, George Drummond, Tresr., William Murray and James Lowis, clerks, ordered this piece of plate to be furnished out of the stock of the Company, and to be shot for as ane annual pryze. at rovers by the said Company, as the Councill for the time shall appoint"Sir Paul James Balfour, The History of the Royal Company of Archers: The Queen's Body-guard for Scotland. W. Blackwood, 1875, p. 322
The Pagodas Medal This prize consists of a medal, one of two which were presented to the Company in 1793 by Major James Spens, The 73rd Regiment (Royal Highland East Indies). They were made from fifty "pagodas", being part of the money actually paid by Tippu Sultan to the allies at the Treaty of Seringapatam in 1792.
Silver Vase and Gold Medal A prize by the General John Earl of Hopetoun commemorating the 1822 visit by King George IV is also competed for annually on the king's or queen's birthday, and known as the Commemoration Prize.John Britton, Modern Athens, displayed in a series of views, or, Edinburgh in the Nineteenth century, London, 1829, p. 17
The Royal Prize of 20 Guineas Since 1677, there has also been a competition for The Royal Prize for which £20 is awarded on the condition that the winner contributes to the Company silver plate to the value of money received from the Crown.Sir Paul James Balfour, The History of the Royal Company of Archers: The Queen's Body-guard for Scotland. W. Blackwood, 1875, p. 329 The condition is that the plate must bear the insignia of Archery.
The Silver Bugles The ninth and tenth prizes are a pair of Silver Bugles, one presented to the Royal Company by one of the General Officers, Sir Henry Jardine, Knight, and which was shot for on 9 April 1830, for the first time. The second was presented later by the Sovereign's Bodyguard.
St. Andrew's Prize St. Andrew's Cross, given in the 1840s by Sir George Steuart Mackenzie, of Coul, to the Royal Company, and called the "St.Andrew's Prize."
The above prizes were competed at the 180, 185 and 200 yards distance with two targets or 'clouts' as the aiming mark, one located at each end of the range.Edinburgh Guide, Edinburgh Events, 16 June 2009 Two further prizes are competed for 'at butts' or point blank distance.A flat trajectory of perhaps 150 yards. Into the 17th century 'direct level flight' meaning was alluded to by no less an author than Sir Walter Raleigh, in The History of the World, 1614: "Training his Archers to shoot compasse, who had bin accustomed to the point blanke." Compass meant 'curved', as in the flight of an arrow over a long distance.
Prize of the Goose The Prize of the Goose was competed for since 1703 and involved a live goose, requiring the winner to kill the goose when only its head protruded from the mark.Sir Paul James Balfour, The History of the Royal Company of Archers: The Queen's Body-guard for Scotland. W. Blackwood, 1875, p. 313 The winner was to be known as the Captain of the Goose for a season. At some time in the history of the company the above method was adopted for shooting for the prize of the Goose by inserting a small glass globe of about an inch in diameter in the centre of the butt-mark, which is a circular piece of cardboard, four inches in diameter. The competitor whose arrow first breaks this globe is declared " Captain of the Goose " for the year, and was awarded the other gold medal presented by Major Spens.
The Gold Medal