Editing Swiss Guards (section)

===Swiss Guards (''Gardes Suisses'')===
In 1616, [[Louis XIII]] gave an existing regiment of Swiss infantry the name of ''Gardes suisses'' (Swiss Guards). The new regiment primarily protected the doors, gates and outer perimeters of the royal palaces.<ref>{{cite book|first=Philip|last=Mansel|page=9|title=Pillars of Monarchy|year=1984|publisher=Quartet Books |isbn=0-7043-2424-5}}</ref>

By the end of the 17th century the Swiss Guards were part of the ''[[Maison militaire du roi de France|Maison militaire du roi]]''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Dieder|last=Davin|page=7|title=The Allied Swiss Troops in French Service|year=2012|publisher=Amber Books Limited |isbn=978-2-35250-235-7}}</ref> They were brigaded with the ''Gardes françaises'' ([[French Guards Regiment]]), with whom they shared the outer guard. In peacetime they were stationed in barracks on the outskirts of [[Paris]]. Like the eleven Swiss regiments of [[line infantry]] in French service, the ''Gardes suisses'' wore red coats. The [[line regiment]]s had black, yellow or light blue facings. The Swiss Guards were distinguished by dark blue lapels and cuffs edged in white embroidery. Only the [[grenadier]] company wore bearskins, while the other companies wore the standard [[tricorn]] headdress of the French infantry.<ref>{{cite book|first=Liliane et Fred |last=Funcken|pages=39–41|title=L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de la Guerre en Dentelle 1|year=1975|publisher=Casterman |isbn=2-203-14315-0}}</ref>{{multiple image
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| image1 = Rég des Gardes suisses.png
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| caption1 = Regimental flag of the Swiss Guards
| image2 = Gardes suisses 1750.png
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| caption2 = Uniform of the Swiss Guards c. 1750
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During the 17th and 18th centuries the Swiss Guards maintained a reputation for discipline and steadiness in both peacetime service and foreign campaigning. Their officers were all Swiss and their rate of pay was substantially higher than that of the regular French soldiers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Christopher J.|last=Tozzi|page=38|title=Nationalizing France's Army|year=2016|publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=978-0-8139-3833-2}}</ref>

The Guards were recruited from all Swiss cantons. The nominal establishment was 1,600 men though actual numbers seem to have normally been below this.<ref>General Pierre Bertin, page 84 "Le Fantassin de France", Service Historique de l'Armee de Terre, B.I.P. Editions 1988</ref> Disciplinary  matters were the responsibility of Swiss officers within the regiment, under a code of punishments that was significantly harsher than that of the remainder of the French army.