Okay, let's talk uniforms for the nerds.
http://imageservice.nordjyske.dk/im...8f233438.jpg?w=839&h=559&mode=crop&scale=both
Notice the lackey at the door. The style of uniform down to his shoes is from late 1700's.
He's called a runner, in contrast to those lackeys you seen in dark green uniforms who are called a "jæger" I.e. a hunter.
Now the hunters were a a mix of game wardens and early special forces. Some were recruited among the game wardens of large estates, who occasionally served inside at court, others were picked from the brightest young officers with most initiative. They were destined for a higher career, either within the military or administration. Sometimes they served as clerks at the administration, sometimes as servants and sometimes for clandestine use, i.e intelligence officers.
Common for both these officers and the game wardens was that they in times of war were issued rifles or in the 1600's a very expensive repeating air gun, which were cranked up by a spring and fed by a magazine rather than being reloaded for each shot. Who operated more or less independently.
By the late 1700's most European countries had established specialized jäger-regiments in green uniforms and armed with rifles. So the lackeys wearing green uniforms stems from this period.
The Master of Ceremonies seen in the photo, wear a uniform that is younger. I'll estimate first half of the 1800's. With his marshal's staff as a symbol of his status as a senior court official.
He is not wearing a sabre but a parade rapier.
http://imageservice.nordjyske.dk/im...c9bf04c2.jpg?w=839&h=559&mode=crop&scale=both
Here is the honor guard from the Guards Hussars.
The uniforms, except for the kepi (which in French inspired and mid 1800's) is from the Napoleonic period.
Hussars, who were originally Hungarian light cavalry, became immensely fashionable in the second half of the 1700's after their fearsome reputation as irregular cavalry during the Seven Years War and the uniform is directly modeled on Hungarian fashion of the period. I.e. no buttons but instead strings were used to fasten the clothes.
The blue jacket is called a dolman, while the fur-jacket is simply called the fur. The white horsehair adorning the kepi is meant to resemble a mane,
not the horse's tail! Not buttheads here please!
In contrast to previous regular cavalry, like dragoons and cuirassiers, the hussars use short boots because as light cavalry they would rarely ride in dense formations with the knees locked behind the knees of those riding beside you. So there was no need for long and very stiff cavalry boots to protect the legs.
http://imageservice.nordjyske.dk/im...1e403669.jpg?w=839&h=559&mode=crop&scale=both
Here is the honor guard from the Royal Lifeguard Regiment.
The guards battalion of the Royal Lifeguard have three uniforms:
A blue, which is seen on a day to day basis.
A red which is the gala uniform.
And the gala-A, which is seen here.
- It's actually the same uniform as the red gala, except for the white cord, a lanyard, which you can see connecting the bearskin caps with the uniform-tunic. The lanyard was only worn in battle and it served the purpose of preventing the (expensive!) cap from being lost if it was shot off in battle. The soldiers were forbidden to break formation in order to retrieve their headgear.
As a combat regiment with a history going back more than 350 years the lanyard is worn with pride.
The Royal Lifeguard is however not the oldest regiment in DK, that honor befell to a now amalgamated regiment that was formed almost 400 years ago. Now the honor officially belongs to Jutland Dragoon Regiment, Joachim's regiment. Because amalgamated regiments retain the seniority of the oldest regiment.
The lackey standing at the door in the background, is a rider, seconded from the royal stables as assistant servants.
