Governor General's Bodyguard

The Governor General's Bodyguard was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was, in effect, the Indian equivalent of the Household Cavalry of the British Army.

History

The regiment was first formed in 1773 as the Governor's Troop of Mughals for the first Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings. It was composed of various contingents raised from various parts of India.

The regiment saw extensive service. In 1801 the regiment took part in the Egyptian campaign that removed a French force that had invaded Egypt. In 1811 the regiment was involved in the campaign to seize Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from the Dutch, which was successfully achieved (Java and other Dutch territories were not returned to the Dutch until 1816, after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars). In 1824 the First Burmese War began and the regiment took part in that conflict, winning the battle honour "Ava".

The regiment saw service in the Gwalior War of 1843, fighting at the Battle of Mahrajapore (29 December) that saw a British victory against the Mahrattas. The regiment saw extensive service in the First Sikh War in 1845. This war saw the most battle honours awarded to the regiment in a single campaign. It was involved in the first engagement of that conflict, at Mudki (Moodkee), where the regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant Charles Digby Dawkins, was killed. The regiment took part in the subsequent battles of the war; at Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and the last battle of the war, Sobraon.It was also active during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

Governor-general

Governor-general or governor general, in modern usage, is the title of an office-holder appointed to represent the monarch of a sovereign state in the governing of an independent realm. Governors-general have also previously been appointed in respect of major colonial states or other territories held by either a monarchy or republic, such as French Indochina.

Current uses

In modern usage, the term governor-general originated in those British colonies which became self-governing within the British Empire. Before World War I, the title was used only in federated colonies in which each of the previously constituent colonies of these federated colonies already had a governor, namely Canada, Australia, and the Union of South Africa. In these cases, the Crown's representative in the federated Dominion was given the superior title of governor general. The first exception to this rule was New Zealand, which was granted Dominion status in 1907, but it was not until 28 June 1917 that Arthur Foljambe, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, was appointed the first Governor General of New Zealand. Another non-federal state, Newfoundland, was a Dominion for 16 years with the King's representative retaining the title of governor throughout this time.

Viceroys in China

Zongdu (Tsung-tu; simplified Chinese: 总督; traditional Chinese: 總督; pinyin: Zǒngdū; Wade–Giles: Tsung³-tu¹; Manchu: Uheri kadalara amban), usually translated as Viceroy or Governor-General, governed one or more provinces of Qing dynasty China. One of the most important was the Viceroy of Zhili (Chihli), since it encompassed the imperial capital. Yuan Shikai, later president of the Republic of China, held this office. The title was first used use during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

The regional viceroys during the Qing dynasty were:

Chinese historians often rank the Viceroy of Zhili as the most honorable and powerful, and the Viceroy of Liangjiang as the richest of the eight. Certain provinces were not governed by any regional viceroys. These included the provinces of Shanxi, Shangdong and Henan.

Governor-General of the Union of South Africa

The Governor-General of the Union of South Africa (Afrikaans: Goewerneur-generaal van Unie van Suid-Afrika) was the representative of the British (1910–1931) and later South African Crown (1931–1961) in the Union of South Africa between 31 May 1910 and 31 May 1961. The Union of South Africa was a Commonwealth realm in which Queen Elizabeth II was given the title Queen of South Africa, although she never visited the country in that capacity.

Some of the first holders of the post were members of the British Royal Family including Prince Arthur of Connaught, between 1920 and 1924, and the Earl of Athlone, who served between 1924 and 1931, before becoming the Governor General of Canada. As in other Dominions, this would change, and from 1943 onward only South Africans (in fact, only Afrikaners) held the office.

The office was established by the South Africa Act 1909. Although the Governor General was nominally the country's chief executive, in practice he was bound by convention to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.