Royal Marines
marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom
His Majesty's Royal Marines are the United Kingdom's special operations-capable naval infantry force and constitute one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. They provide a company-sized sub-unit to the Special Forces Support Group, personnel for landing craft crews, and personnel for the Royal Navy's military bands. The Corps traces its origins to the "Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot", formed on 28 October 1664. The first Royal Marines commando unit was formed at Deal, Kent, on 14 February 1942 and was designated "The Royal Marine Commando".
The Royal Marines have served in numerous conflicts but, unlike most British Army regiments, do not carry individual battle honours. Instead, the "Great Globe Itself" was granted by George IV in 1827 in recognition of the Marines' service in engagements across the world. Today, the Corps comprises the United Kingdom Commando Force, the Royal Marines Band Service, the Commando Training Centre, and four reserve units.
History
Origins
The Royal Marines trace their origins back to 28 October 1664, when the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot was formed at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company.
The "first official" unit of English naval infantry, originally called the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot and soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment, was formed on 28 October 1664, with an initial strength of 1,200 infantrymen recruited from the Trained Bands of London as part of the mobilisation for the Second Anglo-Dutch War. James, Duke of York and Albany, Lord High Admiral and brother of Charles II, was Captain-General of the Artillery Company, the unit that trained the Trained Bands.
“Royal Marines” enters the record as marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Royal, Marines and marine can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Royal Marines” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Royal, Marines and marine provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1046947. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1664, 1942 and 1827.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Royal Marines”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Royal Marines primary sources, Royal Marines archive and Royal research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Royal Marines”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Royal Marines” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.