Other Stewarts

[macwilkin]

Sorry Todd, but I wasn't getting at you. I only mentioned the Royal Scots as an example of the Monarch giving permission to wear the Royal Stewart tartan. I only chose them as, along with the Black Watch, they are a regiment I have served alongside.

However you listing all those regiments that have been given permission does help make my point. I didn't know about Pontious Pilate's Bodyguard

But it is a fact that any clothing worn by the British Military can be worn with impunity by civilians and Royal Stewart tartan getting all that exposure probably helped push it into the "free zone".

Peter

The nickname refers to the Royal Scots being the oldest regiment of the line, being raised under royal warrant of Charles I for service in France by John Hepburn in 1633:

While in French service in the 17th century, The Royal Scots (then known as Hepburn's Regiment, or Le Régiment de Hebron) got into an argument with the Picardie Regiment about which was the oldest. As the argument escalated, the Scots jestingly claimed to be descended from the Roman legion whose detachment guarded Jesus' tomb. (There may have Caledonians in that legion, but certainly no lineal continuity with Hepburn's regiment.) To which the French replied: had we been on guard, Christ's body would not have gone missing. The story may be apocryphal, but "Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard" apparently started as a taunt and became The Royal Scots' favourite nickname for it signalled their antiquity. Also fueling this connection is the tradition that Pontius Pilate was born in Fortingall, Perthshire, to a Roman officer stationed there, but it is quite unlikely that as Procurator of Judea he had a bodyguard from Scotland.

-- http://www.regiments.org/about/faq/oldest.htm

The 9th Battalion, Royal Scots, a territorial battalion, was the only battalion to wear the kilt, as it was largely made up of Highlanders living in Edinburgh; they were known as "The Dandy Ninth".

No worries; I just wanted to clarify my position.

T.