The collection traces the history of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, direct successor of twelve forbear regiments through four and a quarter centuries of service to the Crown. Starting in 1572 with the deployment of a Tudor company to support the Dutch in their war against the Spanish and the raising of a regiment in 1661 to garrison the North African port of Tangier, which earned the first ever awarded battle honour “Tangier 1662-80” a series of displays, interactive videos and recordings takes the visitor right up to the Regiment’s most recent operations in support of the UN and NATO.
 

An independent museum is housed within Maidstone Museum since 1960. It is packed with fascinating, colourful and thought-provoking exhibits. It tells the story of this famous local regiment, beginning with its forebears, the local Militia and the 50th and 97th Foot, and recounting their exploits during the British Army’s many 18th and 19th century campaigns.

It continues with the Royal West Kent’s service in the First World War, their dramatic and harrowing exploits during the Siege of Kohima in the Second World War and ends with their eventual amalgamation with other regiments in 1961.

The fabulous Sutlej Gun and the Museum’s four Victoria Crosses are some of the many treasures on display.

To contact the Regimental Museum, please email your enquiry to: qorwkmuseum@maidstone.gov.uk