The bearskin caps worn by soldiers outside Buckingham Palace now cost more than £2,000 each, figures from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show.
The cost of the ceremonial caps, made from the fur of black bears, soared by 30% in a year, according to figures revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request from animal welfare campaigners.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) group are against using real fur in principle, but they say it is also now a financial as well as an ethical issue, with £1m spent on fur caps in recent years.
The MoD said: “We are open to exploring faux fur alternatives if they pass the necessary requirements."
However, the ministry spokesman said a fake fur version would have to satisfy "safety and durability considerations" and that "no alternative has met all those criteria to date".
The sharp increase in price is explained by the MoD as the result of a change in the "contractual arrangements" for the caps, which are all made from the fur of bears hunted in Canada.
The cost of the caps worn by the King's Guard rose from £1,560 each in 2022 to £2,040 in 2023.
Elisa Allen, of Peta, called on the MoD to "stop wasting taxpayer pounds on caps made from slaughtered wildlife, and switch to faux fur today".
The distinctive tall caps are worn on ceremonial events such as Trooping the Colour, and the figures from the MoD show that 24 new caps were bought in 2023 and 13 in 2022. Over the past decade the amount spent on replacement caps has been more than £1m.
Why do ceremonial uniforms need to be stuck in the 19th century? They used to be modernised all the time. It's almost like they realize the entire institution they protect is a relic with no place in the modern world.
Most ceremonial get stuck at some point, like the Vatican Guards or the Greek Presidential Guards. Some British soldiers tend to use a ceremonial uniform based on what they wore before the introduction of khaki in 1902 (which handily coincides with the start of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1901 on the death of Queen Victoria) as colourful uniforms got phased out when smokeless ammunition was developed (although it started to be dropped in the late 19th Century). All ceremonial dress was phased out at the start of WW1 and only reintroduced afterwards for the Household Cavalry and Foot Guards.
I'd imagine that, if we abolished the monarchy, we'd retain these for the tourists around the Buck House Museum of the Outmoded Ruling Class as we do with the Beefeaters at the Tower of London.
I don't understand why they wear old style uniforms but carry modern guns. All the parade ground 'shoulder arms' type stuff looked so much better with a Lee Enfield than with a modern SA80.
They've never used ceremonial rifles presumably because they have to be ready to fight if needed. They are cagey about whether they are loaded or not (just in case) but former soldiers say they tend not to be unless there is an emergency situation - loaded magazines are kept in a locked guardhouse (or somewhere else nearby). Most of the actual guarding of Buckingham House and other big houses in London we'll be having back is done by the Met (and presumably discrete members of the secret service).
So why couldn't modern weapons be kept there letting them carry on using the Lee Enfields. But hey, it's just aesthetics, I suppose, and on the scale of things not a big one to spend time worrying about!
But then they'd have to admit they aren't carrying loaded guns.