Officer’s chapka associated with the Duke of Cornwall’s (Loyal Meneage) Yeomanry, 1816.
Grey metal crown covered with japanned black brown paper. Fluted scarlet cloth crown sides stiffened on underside at each corner with a metal rod. Black patented leather skull and peaks. Plated copper chin scales. Fragment of leather chin strap. Plate with Prince of Wales’s plume, coronet and motto, above and besides which is a die-struck scroll with roped border bearing the regimental title.
The Regiment became a Lancer unit in 1816. The first regular regiments were first organised as Lancers in September 1816. This chapka is probably the earliest known for a Yeomanry unit and for a British Cavalry Regiment.