In 1847 the helmet was changed once more to a style that came near to the final pattern. This officer holds his gilt helmet which has been carefully painted to show the fine detail. The helmet was worn from 1847 to 1871, the order issued by Horse Guards dating from 30 July 1847. The plume was black for all heavy cavalry regiments and was initially all gilt for the dragoon guards as well as the dragoons. Issuing of the helmet was slow and some regiments did not receive them until 1850. The distinctive red plume of the KDG was not adopted until 1855. The rest of this officer’s uniform is very clearly painted, showing the striped waist-sash with gold and crimson tassels. The boxed epaulettes are embroidered and the sleeves show no sign of the embroidered loops. This is because the coats underwent a change in 1848 so that the gold embroidery was confined to the blue cuffs, completely concealed when gauntlets were worn.
The other change to the coat was the shortening of the coat-tails. This can be seen on the trooper in the background, holding the officer’s charger. This man has brass shoulder scales and a white pouch-belt with brass buckle, tip and slide, and a plain black leather pouch with no badge. The charger has a red valise on the back of the saddle and a black sheepskin saddle cover.
