The current Guidon bears the Queen’s Crown, the Regimental Badge and a selection of the Regimental Battle Honours.
Battle Honours were originally commemorated in the form of badges on the regimental colours. For examples, regiments which had distinguished themselves in India might carry a Tiger badge, those who had fought in Egypt might carry a Sphinx.
The custom of carrying the name of the battle on the Guidon came in gradually. The first example was the Emsdorf 1759, a battle honour granted to the15th Hussars in 1768.
For another 100 years, the system was somewhat haphazard In many cases, honours were awarded retrospectively back to Tangier 1662-1680. Battle honours for Marlborough’s campaigns of the early 1700s including Blenheim were not awarded until 1882.