Sir,
I have had the honour to receive your Letter of the 14th Instant, signifying to me, by desire of the General Commanding in Chief, that His Majesty has been pleased to decide, that no Regiment in His Majesty's Service shall be permitted to display a Third Colour under any circumstances whatsoever; and that, consequently, the Third Colour now in possession of the Queen's Royal shall not, from henceforth, be displayed in the Ranks of the Regiment.
I will, without delay, transmit a Copy of your Communication to the Officer Commanding the Queen's Royal in India, for his information and guidance, with Orders to enter the same in the Regimental Record, as well as in the Standing Orders of the Corps, in obedience to His Majesty's Commands; and I am persuaded, that the Officers and Men of the Queen's Royal, although thereby deprived of a distinction which the Regiment has for some time enjoyed, will, nevertheless, feel as I do, highly gratified by the very gracious terms in which His Majesty has been pleased to direct his decision upon the subject to be communicated to me.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) James Kempt.
To the Adjutant-General.
N. B. In a printed description of the Colours of every Regiment, published in 1684, no mention is made of the Queen's Regiment having the privilege of carrying an additional Colour.
The following is an extract from D'Auvergne's History of the Campaign in Flanders in 1693, relating to the Battle of Landen:—
"'Tis certain that we have taken from them (the French) Nineteen Colours and Thirty-seven Standards, which, considering the proportion of Forces, is more than they gained from us, particularly as to the Number of Colours; for besides that the French had double our number of Foot, their Battalions never have but Three Colours at the most in each;—our Brandenburg and Hanover Foot have as many Colours as there are Companies in every Battalion, insomuch that some Battalions have a dozen;—and, therefore, it is more for us in proportion to have taken Nineteen Colours from them, than if they had taken Fifty from us."