text: In the British Army's cavalry units, the king's cavalry standard and the regimental standard (for the heavy cavalry) and the king's cavalry guidons and regimental guidons (for the light cavalry) are the equivalents to the line infantry colours. The king's standard is crimson with the royal coat of arms and cypher, plus the regimental honours, while the regimental (squadron/union) standard has an adaptable background colour per unit (the colour is sometimes scarlet) and includes sometimes the Union Badge below the crown and the royal cypher at the sides of the badge, with the unit honours below. The light cavalry guidon is swallow-tailed and includes the regimental coat of arms and honours. Before the 1950s, however, Timpani in the drumhorses (and later snare, bass and tenor drums in the dismounted bands) carried the regimental honours and insignia of the light cavalry regiments. For dragoon guards regiments, the sequence is mixed, since these regiments have a king's cavalry standard and regimental guidons.
  The Household Cavalry has the following unique colours:
  The Life Guards: King's cavalry standard only
  The Blues and Royals: King's cavalry standard, regimental guidon
  Embellishments
  Woven onto the colours are battle honours; the king's colour has honours from the First World War and Second World War, while the regimental colour has honours from other campaigns. The regimental colour can also have other distinctions, including antecedent emblems and unique honours; one significant example is the Sphinx emblem carried by regiments who took part in the Egypt campaign of 1801. The Foot Guards carry battle honours from all engagements in both of their colours. If the regiment has more than a single battalion, then there are identifying marks on the colours to show which battalion they belong to.
  There are various other embellishments that can be added to the colours on various occasions: