HIS Majesty The King has honoured The Yorkshire Regiment with the ‘Royal’ prefix, in recognition of exemplary service to the Crown.

With immediate effect, the Regiment will now be known as The Royal Yorkshire Regiment - but there will be no change to the Regiment’s cap badge.

The announcement comes after The King and The Queen Consort visited Yorkshire yesterday (April 6), attending the annual Maundy Service at York Minster and opening the new Refectory restaurant in the former site of The Minster School.

Describing it as an "incredibly proud moment", Colonel of The Regiment, Major General Zac Stenning OBE, said: “Today is an historic day. The Royal Yorkshire Regiment is deeply humbled by His Majesty’s bestowal of a Royal title, especially so close to the Coronation.

“We are acutely aware that the award of this title is a singular honour.

"It will cement our soldiers’ pride and identity in belonging to a unique, county-named Infantry regiment, committed to service and duty to our nation.

“Operational challenges we face in the future, will be embraced by our soldiers and officers with the same level of professionalism, commitment and determination but with enhanced pride in belonging to The Royal Yorkshire Regiment.”

Dan Jarvis MP said he is "pleased and proud" to congratulate the Yorkshire Regiment on the honour.

Mr Jarvis said: "I know those who serve, and have served in the Regiment and its predecessors, and their families, will be delighted to hear this news, which stands as a fitting tribute to the outstanding service of the Regiment.

“Our county is an extraordinary place, with extraordinary people, and those who step forward to serve in our county regiment reflect the very best of our unique character. It’s a truly special accolade to receive royal approval of their service from The King.”

The Regiment was formed in 2006 by the merger of The Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire, The Green Howards and The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.

Since 2006 The Regiment has been deployed on 20 operations overseas including three tours in Iraq and 12 tours in Afghanistan including, most recently, Operation Pitting, the evacuation of Afghan nationals from Kabul, in August 2021.

Eighteen soldiers have been killed and more than 70 members of the Regiment have been wounded in action since formation. A similar number have received operational gallantry awards.

The Royal Yorkshire Regiment is the only county-named regiment in the British Army. Its home is the county of Yorkshire, including the area up to the historic boundary of the River Tees.