Editing Yeomen of the Guard (section)

==Uniform==
===Tudor livery of green and white===
There are only two contemporary records of the livery of the Yeomen of the Guard during Henry VII's reign. The first was written by a herald, who was present for the marriage of Prince Arthur to Catherine of Aragon in November 1501. Hewerdine quotes the herald's description:
{{blockquote|text=The yeomen of the Guard were clothed in 'large jackets of damask, white and green, goodly embroidered both on their breasts before and also on their backs behind, with round garlands of vine branches, beset before richly with spangles of silver and gilt, and in the middle a red rose, beaten with goldsmiths' work, with bright halberds in their hands'.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=63-4}}}}
Hewerdine interprets this written description as referring to ''horsemen's coats''. These were close-fitting to the upper body, and expanded below the waist into a flared skirt to cover the thighs when the rider was on horseback. 

The second record is an illuminated border from the 1527 Treaty of Amiens. This is the earliest known illustration of the Bodyguard. Two yeomen are illustrated, wearing either a striped tunic or sleeveless jacket of green and white. The neckline is a gold band, and there is a gold crowned rose on the chest. One yeoman wears scarlet hose and a gold-coloured cap, whilst the other wears white hose and a black cap.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=67}} (A photograph appears on page 60 of Hewerdine's thesis.)

When members of the Guard were performing their duties as yeomen of the chamber, they were furnished with ''watching clothing'' for their night-time watches around the king's chamber. The color was described either as russet cloth or tawny medley. Neither color has been identified with certainty.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=62}} For royal funerals, the Guard wore black.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=62}}

=== Scarlet and gold livery ===
[[File:Fieldhenry8.JPG|thumb|right|Yeomen of the Guard (top left) attending Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold (as depicted in 1545).]]
In common with other members of the King's household, the Guard wore scarlet for Henry VIII's coronation in 1509. Thereafter they resumed the traditional green and white livery, but periodically red was worn (most notably at the [[Field of the Cloth of Gold]] in 1520); and in June 1526 the colour appears to have been officially changed to red.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=66}} From this time the Guard began on a regular basis to wear the scarlet and gold livery that is familiar today, albeit the styling varied over the years.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=66}}

Records survive from Henry VIII's reign regarding the special care and storage of the scarlet coats. In February 1528, two Yeomen of the Guard and four women were paid 6 shillings for two days work of brushing and airing out the coats. The coats were kept in large containers known as standards. The coat standards were not stored in one of the palaces or usual wardrobe buildings. They were kept at rented locations. As Henry VIII's court moved around, the coat standards would accompany their retinue train. In 1519, the Guard's Clerk of the Cheque received 3 shillings 8 pence to rent two carts to move the coat standards from Greenwich Palace to [[Richmond Palace]]. The next July, the Clerk received 6 pounds 2 shillings for transportation of the coat standards from London to Calais and [[Guisnes]] and then back to London. Another 6 shillings 8 pence was spent for renting accommodations to store the coats and the Guards' [[accoutrements]] while they were in Calais for Henry VII's meeting with Francis I of France.{{r|1998_Hewerdine|p=68}}

===Officers' ranks and today's uniform===
[[File:Checking the cellars - 52063546273.jpg|thumb|left|An Officer with a detachment of Yeomen, on their way to search the cellars of the Houses of Parliament on the day of the State Opening.]]
The senior officer is the [[Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard]], which is filled by the current [[Deputy Chief Whip]] in the [[House of Lords]]. Officers ranking below the Captain are Lieutenant, Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant, Ensign or Standard Bearer, and the Exon. In common with other branches of the military, a standardised uniform for officers was not adopted until the 18th century. By the early 19th century the officers of the Bodyguard were wearing red [[coatee]]s, blue trousers and a cocked hat (much as they do today).<ref name="Mansfield1980">{{cite book |last1=Mansfield |first1=Alan |title=Ceremonial Costume: Court, Civil, and Civic Costume from 1660 to the Present Day |year=1980 |url=https://archive.org/details/ceremonialcostum0000mans_q7c6/page/204/mode/2up?q=officers+uniform |publisher=A & C Black |location=London |pages=205–211 |isbn=978-0-7136-2083-2 |url-access=registration |access-date=16 September 2022}}</ref> In the 20th century it is described as a scarlet cloth double-breasted coatee with gold [[epaulettes]] and dark blue collar and cuffs; the skirts turned back with white cloth. Nine buttons in each row down the front, and two on the skirts behind. The buttons have a rose, shamrock and thistle device, topped by a crown; and a rose, shamrock and thistle appear within the gold embroidery of the epaulettes, collar, cuff slashes, sword flaps and also on the skirts of the coatee. The trousers are blue, with a gold stripe, and the hat has a 'General's plume' of 11-inch white swan feathers with red feathers under.<ref name="DWC1921">{{cite book |editor1-last=Trendell |editor1-first=Herbert A. P. |title=Dress and insignia worn at His Majesty's Court (issued with the authority of the Lord Chamberlain) |date=1921 |publisher=Harrison & Sons |location=London |pages=25–26 |url=https://archive.org/details/dressinsigniawor00greauoft/page/25/mode/1up |access-date=24 May 2022}}</ref> 

[[Aiguillettes]] are worn by the Captain, the Lieutenant, the Clerk of the Cheque & Adjutant and the Ensign, but not by the Exon. A 'gold stick' (ebony, with a gold top) is carried by the captain, and 'silver sticks' by the other officers.<ref name="Mansfield1980" />

===Non-Commissioned Officers' ranks and insignia===
Non-commissioned officers are the two Messenger Sergeant Majors (MSM), the Divisional Sergeant Majors (DSM) heading each division, the Yeoman Bed Goers (YBG), the Yeoman Bed Hangers (YBH), and the Yeomen.<ref name=YeomanGuardHomeIA/> 

The badges of rank are worn on the right upper arm: The MSM wear four gold chevrons point down surmounted by a gold crown. The DSM are recognisable by four white chevrons surmounted by a gold crown. All Sergeant majors are distinguished by their black batons, which they carry instead of the [[partisan (weapon)|partisan]].<ref>[https://www.yeomenoftheguard.co.uk/the-guard-room The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard: Uniforms], retrieved 25. September 2022</ref><ref>Thomas Preston, ''The Yeomen of the Guard. Their History from 1485 to 1885: and a Concise Account of the Tower Warders'', Harrison and Sons, London 1885, p.26</ref>
<!-- see Talk Page for info which had to be removed from Organisation due to www.yeomanoftheguard.co.uk website renovation -->

=== Differences between the Yeoman of the Guard and the Yeoman Warders ===
The Yeomen of the Guard, the original "Beefeaters", are often confused with the [[Yeomen Warders]] of His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, who are also known as "Beefeaters", a similar but distinct body. The Yeoman Warders wear their daily "undress" dark blue uniform and only on ceremonial occasions wear the Yeomen of the Guard's distinctive uniform that consists of a royal red tunic with purple facings and stripes and gold lace ornaments, red knee-breeches and red stockings, flat hat, and black shoes with red, white and blue rosettes. The gold-embroidered emblems on the back and front of the coats consist of the crowned [[Tudor Rose]], the [[shamrock]] and the [[thistle]], the motto ''[[Dieu et mon droit]]'', and the [[royal cypher]] of the reigning sovereign (currently CIIIR for "Carolus Rex"). The State Dress is sometimes worn without a white [[Ruff (clothing)|ruff]], which is reserved for highly official occasions.

The item of uniform that distinguishes The Yeomen of the Guard from the Tower Warders is the red [[Shoulder belt (military)|cross-belt]] or [[baldric]], worn from the left shoulder.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yeomen of the Guard |url=https://www.royal.uk/yeomen-guard |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=royal.uk}}</ref> This is a relic from the time when the Guard, and not the Warders, carried the [[Arquebus|harquebus]].