| Active | 1642-1646 |
| Country | England |
| Allegiance | Royalist |
| Conflicts | First Civil War |
| Type | Horse |
| Colonel | Prince of Wales |
| Earl of Cumberland | |
| Sir Thomas Byron | |
| Lord Wentworth | |
| Lord Capel | |
| Area Raised | |
| Flag Colour | |
| Flag Design | |
| Field Armies | Oxford 1642-1646 |
Commanded by the Earl of Cumberland, Sir Thomas Byron, Lord Wentworth, then Lord Capel
Regiment of Horse whose honourary Colonel was Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, serving with the Oxford Army and in the West Country
At Edgehill included the Earl of Lindsey's troop that left to become the Lord General’s Regiment of Horse by December 1642.
Prince Charles (1630-1685) was honourary Colonel of his regiment of horse, biographies can be found online, at BCW, Wikipedia, Britsh Royal History amongst many others.
At the age of 12 Charles and his younger brother James were present at the Battle of Edgehill, where they amused themselves shooting toy pistols in the direction of Essex's army and Charles had to be dissuaded from charging the enemy himself. Parliamentarian cuirassiers broke through the Royalist infantry causing havoc at the rear of the army and the Princes were saved from capture by the efforts of the Gentlemen Pensioners. The young Prince of Wales visited Raglan Castle to raise support, charming the proud Welsh, but spent most of the war together with his father at Oxford or on campaign. In March 1645 at the age of 15 he was appointed nominal Captain General of the West Country Royalists with a headquarters at Bristol, but despite the advice of Clarendon and Hopton the West Country forces fell apart in the face of the New Model Army. After the fall of Bristol Charles fled to the Scilly Isles, the Jersey, then joined the Queen at St Germain in France. His father was executed in 1649. Desperate to gain the support of the Scots Covenanters he signed the Treaty of Breda, and landed in Scotland in 1650, was crowned King of Scotland in 1651, then marched South on the fateful Worcester campaign. Soundly defeated by Cromwell, Charles spent six weeks on the run, aided and unintentionally hindered by Henry Wilmot Earl of Rochester, before escaping to France again. In 1654 Charles was forced to move to Cologne then Bruges and allied with Spain against Parliament and the French. By 1658 he had raised a small army of English and Irish exiles allied to the Spanish, which was defeated by Turenne and Protectorate forces at the Battle of the Dunes. As the Protectorate collapsed after the death of Cromwell, General Monck organised Charles' return to England in 1660. He landed at Dover on 25 May. Amid wild rejoicing across the nation, Charles made a triumphal entry into London on his 30th birthday, 29 May 1660. His coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on St George's Day, 1661.
Henry Clifford, 5th Earl of Cumberland was at first the titular commander of the Prince's regiment, although Byron exercised field command. Cumberland died in 1643.
Sir Thomas Byron commanded the Prince's regiment in the field, was wounded at Hopton Heath, then shot by captain Hurst of his own regiment in Oxford in February 1644, whereof he died.
Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth son of the Earl of Cleveland, he previously commanded Lord Wentworth’s Regiment of Dragoons in the Oxford Army and later went on to command The King’s Own Regiment of Guards in Flanders.
Lord Capel (1604-1649) was appointed General of North Wales and the North Welsh marches in 1642 but was generally unsuccessful and replaced by Lord Byron in December 1643. He remained at Oxford until 1645 then accompanied Price Charles to Bristol, being appointed Colonel of the Prince's regiments of horse and foot. After the fall of the West he followed Prince Charles into exile. In 1648 he was instrumental in raising the Royalist rebellion in Essex. Besieged in Colchester by the New Model Army under Fairfax, the Royalists endured a hard fought and brutal siege of 76 days before surrendering. Capel was imprisoned in the Tower of London, escaped but was recaptured. He was sentenced to death and executed outside Westminster Hall in March 1649.