Household Cavalry Museum
Photo: Own work — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Located within the historic Horse Guards building, the Household Cavalry Museum offers a unique insight into the British Army’s most senior regiments, featuring rare artifacts and interactive displays.
Planning your visit
The Household Cavalry Museum sits inside the Horse Guards building on Whitehall, and its distinguishing feature is a glass partition through which you look directly into the working stables — the horses are there, being tended, a few metres away, and the smell and noise come through. This is an operational cavalry barracks rather than a preserved one.
The Household Cavalry comprises the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, the sovereign's mounted bodyguard, and the museum covers both their ceremonial function and their operational history from the Restoration through Waterloo, the Charge of the Light Brigade, both world wars and recent deployments. Uniforms, cuirasses, standards, weapons and personal accounts fill the galleries, and visitors can try on a helmet and tunic.
The Changing of the Queen's Life Guard happens on the parade ground outside daily, and the mounted sentries in the archway are among the most photographed soldiers in London.
It is directly on Whitehall between Trafalgar Square and Westminster. Allow an hour. The main booking is an entry ticket. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Household Cavalry Museum?
Household Cavalry Museum is in London, United Kingdom. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Household Cavalry Museum?
Allow an hour. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Household Cavalry Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
