The Garde à Cheval are gentlemen of quality, hand picked from the best families, who protect the monarch. The Garde à Cheval are a court regiment where appearance is just as important as fighting prowess. The gentlemen of this unit (and they are all gentlemen) are not the common sort of soldier, and they are not respected by the rest of the army. Often, they are also unloved by the people too, as they stand with the monarch, and this can mean taking a sabre to their own countrymen.