On the 11th of November King Charles withdrew from the army, taking with him the Royal Dragoons and Staremberg's Imperialists, and proceeded to Cienpoznelos. The Royal Dragoons appear to have become a favourite corps with his Majesty, and when he retired to Barcelona he took with him two squadrons of the regiment as a body-guard. The other squadron remained with the army, and during the retreat it formed part of the rear column on the left commanded by Lieut.-General Stanhope. This retrograde movement was performed under great difficulties from the hostile spirit of the Castilians, inclement weather, and a scarcity of forage and provision. On the 6th of December the column of which the Royal Dragoons formed part arrived at Brihuega, a village of about a thousand houses, situate in the mountains of Castile, near the river Tajuna, where they halted on the following day. While the troops were reposing in this rural seclusion, the town was suddenly surrounded by the French and Spanish forces commanded by the Duke of Vendosme. The British, though invested by a force of more than ten times their own numbers, resolved on a vigorous defence; but unfortunately they had no artillery, very little ammunition, and the wall round the village was in a ruinous condition. The enemy forced the gates, battered down part of the wall with their cannon, and assaulted the place by storm, but were repulsed with severe loss. A second assault was given, and the British troops, having spent all their ammunition, defended themselves a short time with stones and other missiles; but were eventually forced to surrender prisoners of war.[41]
1711
The officers and men of the Royal Dragoons who were thus made prisoners were sent to France, and, after being exchanged, were removed to England, and subsequently to Scotland. The remainder of the regiment continued in Spain, where it served under Lieut.-General the Duke of Argyle.
1712
In 1711 the Emperor Joseph died, King Charles proceeded from Spain to Germany, and was elected Emperor of the Romans. This event removed one of the competitors for the throne of Spain. King Philip made a formal renunciation of his claim to succeed to the throne of France, and the danger of an union of the kingdoms of France and Spain was thus removed. Negotiations for a general peace were commenced, and in the summer of 1712 the officers and men of the Royal Dragoons quitted Spain and returned to England. They were mounted on Spanish horses; but before they quitted Catalonia their horses were sold, and the men returned home dismounted.
1713
After their arrival in England the Royal Dragoons were stationed in dispersed quarters in Yorkshire; and the establishment was fixed at twenty-seven officers, eight quarter-masters, and three hundred and twenty-eight non-commissioned officers and private men. During the summer of 1713 a detachment of the regiment proceeded to Dover, and received a draft of two hundred horses from Kerr's (now seventh) dragoons, which regiment was ordered to proceed, dismounted, to Ireland, where it was disbanded.
1714
On the decease of Queen Anne on the 1st of August, 1714, the Royal Dragoons left Yorkshire, and marched into quarters in the villages near London; but after the arrival of King George I. from Hanover they returned to Yorkshire, and a reduction of fifty men was made in the establishment.[42]