The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR), also known as the Tigers, is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen's Division.
History The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was formed on 9 September 1992 by the amalgamation of the Queen's Regiment and the Royal Hampshire Regiment and holds the earliest battle honour in the British Army (Tangier 1662–80). Through its ancestry via the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) (2nd Regiment of Foot), the PWRR is the most senior English line infantry regiment. The current regiment was named in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Upon formation, the Princess of Wales was Colonel-in-Chief, and the Queen of Denmark was Allied Colonel-in-Chief of the PWRR. When the Princess divorced the Prince of Wales, she resigned as Colonel-in-Chief and the Queen of Denmark was appointed its Colonel-in-Chief.
The Queen of Denmark served as the Colonel-in-Chief until her abdication on 14 January 2024. A new Colonel-in-Chief has not yet been appointed.
1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (1 PWRR) served a two-year operational tour in Omagh, Northern Ireland from September 1993 to September 1995, then two short tours as the UK Standby Battalion in West Belfast and Armagh in 1996. This was followed by a further Northern Ireland tour in West Belfast during 1997-98, and a composite company from 1 PWRR subsequently served a short tour in Belfast to reinforce 1st Battalion The Highlanders in 1998.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 1, Northern Ireland
In late April 1997, due to the insurgency crisis in Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo), 1 PWRR, in its role as the designated high-readiness 'Spearhead Battalion' was deployed on a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO), codenamed Operation DETERMINANT, to evacuate British (non-combatant) personnel at risk from the civil war. 1 PWRR was supported by elements of 5 Airborne Brigade, 3 Commando Brigade, and the Royal Air Force.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 5, Small Wars and Brush Fires
In August 2000, 1 PWRR deployed for six months to Podujevo in the north-east of Kosovo, on Operation AGRICOLA 4. The Battle Group's primary role was to deter and prevent aggression from Serbia and to ensure a secure internal environment within Kosovo. In May 2002, 1 PWRR returned to Kosovo as the Pristina Battle Group, on Operation AGRICOLA 8 for a further six months.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 2, The Balkans
From mid April 2004, 1 PWRR served a six-month tour in Iraq on Operation TELIC 4, with Battle Group Headquarters based at Camp Abu Naji. Before departing England's shores, the commanding officer had informed his battalion that it would be 'a tour like no other', and he was proved correct. The intense combat, in which Private Johnson Beharry won the Victoria Cross, thrust the Regiment into the media's full glare. Many of the operations carried out by the battalion during the tour were named after stations on the London Underground. In May, the Battle of Danny Boy, involved the first bayonet charge since the Falklands War. An idea of the intensity of the fighting can be gained from the operational awards, with no fewer than thirty-one gallantry honours, bestowed. By the end of the 2004 tour, the PWRR emerged as the most highly decorated infantry regiment in the British Army.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 3, Iraq
In April 2006, 1 PWRR returned to southern Iraq, as part of 20 Armoured Brigade. With the Iraqi insurgency in full spate, the battalion was repeatedly engaged in fierce and intense fighting. Again, the battalion distinguished itself and, over the course of several months, its soldiers won numerous gallantry awards for bravery. In November 2008, 1 PWRR deployed for its third tour of duty in Iraq on Operation TELIC 13 (less two sub-units which were instead deployed to Afghanistan). 1 PWRR helped train the Iraqi Army and oversaw the withdrawal of UK Forces from Basra, as this was the final British combat tour in Iraq. In May 2009, PWRR soldiers were the last British combat troops to drive out of Iraq and into Kuwait.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 3, Iraq
In August 2008, towards the end of Operation HERRICK 8, B Company Group 1 PWRR deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan for seven months as the Armoured Infantry Company Group to 16 Air Assault Brigade, and they were joined by the 1 PWRR Reconnaissance and Sniper Platoon. As an armoured force in theatre, they were in high demand and involved in heavy fighting.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 4, Afghanistan Subsequently, in October 2011, 1 PWRR deployed to Afghanistan to form the nucleus of the Police Mentoring Advisory Group (PMAG) with individual companies detached to other battlegroups around Helmand province. During this tour, 1 PWRR also achieved the most recent case of a successful bayonet charge, when Corporal Sean Jones led a charge during an ambush in the village of Kakaran, for which he was awarded the military cross.
As a result of Army 2020, 1 PWRR moved from Paderborn, Germany to be stationed at Bulford Camp.
In October 2023, 200 soldiers from 1 PWRR were deployed to northern Kosovo following increased tensions and the build-up of Serbian military in the region.
Since August 2024, 1 PWRR has been based at Episkopi Garrison, replacing the 1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment as the Regional Standby Battalion.
2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment In 1993, Gallipoli Company of 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (2 PWRR) deployed to Forkhill in South Armagh, Northern Ireland for six months, to reinforce 1st Battalion, The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment. In late 1993, 2 PWRR deployed to Fermanagh for a six month tour. Subsequently, in September 1995, 2 PWRR returned again to Northern Ireland on a two-year residential tour, taking over directly from 1 PWRR in Omagh. In late 1998, 2 PWRR deployed on a six-month tour of West Belfast and, in the summer of 2003, the battalion returned for a six-month tour of Drummad and Dungannon. Thereafter, and having only recently returned from operational service in Iraq, 2 PWRR deployed in December 2006 for a two-year tour based in Ballykelly, in Shackleton Barracks, Northern Ireland, the last resident battalion deployed in this role under Operation Banner.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 1, Northern Ireland
In the immediate aftermath of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, A Company 2 PWRR deployed, in August, for a three-month tour on Operation GABRIEL. The PWRR task was to provide infantry force protection for the British contingent (BRITCON), whose role was to assist the international humanitarian effort in support of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR).Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 5, Small Wars and Brush Fires
In May 1994, shortly after the Bosnian-Croat Civil War, a rifle platoon from 2 PWRR, deployed to Bosnia-Hercegovina on Operation GRAPPLE 4, to reinforce BRITBAT. Subsequently, 2 PWRR deployed to Bosnia-Hercegovina on Operation PALATINE for a six-month tour in October 2000 as the UK Battle Group. In September 2007, C Company 2 PWRR deployed from Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, to Kosovo on operation OCULUS (K), in the International Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force (ISR TF) role.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 2, The Balkans
In January 2005, 2 PWRR deployed to Basra Palace, Iraq for a six-month tour, arriving just in time to oversee the first Iraqi election, albeit the potential for violence remained volatile and extremely high. In the second month of the tour, B Company Group was tasked to take over from a Dutch contingent in Al Muthanna Province, an area of operations the size of Wales. In July, 2 PWRR returned to its Tern Hill Barracks, with just four months to prepare and train prior to its next operational deployment, to take over as the Ballykelly Resident Battalion in Northern Ireland.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 3, Iraq
In February 2008, 2 PWRR moved from Ballykelly, Northern Ireland to Dhekilia, Cyprus and, in June, assumed the role of the Afghanistan Theatre Reserve Battalion (TRB). During its tenure as TRB, Battle Group Headquarters and all Company Groups deployed sequentially to Afghanistan, covering a fifteen-month period, spanning Operation HERRICK 8 with 16 Air Assault Brigade, HERRICK 9 with 3 Commando Brigade, and HERRICK 10 with 19 Light Brigade. During its tenure in the TRB role, the infantrymen of 2 PWRR distinguished themselves during fierce fighting against the Taliban, and were duly honoured with a number of gallantry awards. In December 2008, Battle Group (Centre South) was established, and 2 PWRR assumed that role for the remainder of HERRICK 9, before handing over to 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards. When, in July 2009, the commanding officer of the Welsh Guards was killed in action, 2 PWRR's commanding officer flew back to Afghanistan (from where he had only just returned to Cyprus) and assumed the role of interim commanding officer of the Welsh Guards.Scott, Michael. Tigers at War: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment: 25 Years in Front-Line Modern Conflict, Helion & Company, 2017 - Chapter 4, Afghanistan
After two years at Alexander Barracks in Dhekelia in Cyprus, 2 PWRR moved to Woolwich Garrison, London, to take up a public duties role in August 2010, a role they performed for three years. 2 PWRR then deployed to Cyprus again in 2014, as one of the infantry units rotating between the UK and British Forces Cyprus. In August 2017, 2 PWRR returned to the UK, based at Kendrew Barracks in Cottesmore, where they reconfigured two companies into a Light Mechanised Infantry force.
2 PWRR re-subordinated to the Ranger Regiment on 1 December 2021.Message by the Colonel of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment regarding Remembrance Day for 2021 and upcoming Regimental Changes. Regimental Headquarters, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
3rd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (3 PWRR) 3 PWRR is an Army Reserve infantry battalion. It was formed by a merger of 5 PWRR and 6/7 PWRR in July 1999. It is headquartered in Canterbury, with companies in: Ashford (A Company), Brighton and Eastbourne (B Company), and Rochester (C Company). It is part of the 20 Armoured Brigade. Since 2022, 3 PWRR soldiers have deployed on operations and training exercises in Cyprus, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Denmark, Estonia and delivered training to Ukrainian soldiers in the UK.
4th Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (4 PWRR)