Queen dazzles in royal blue as she presents new Colours to the Welsh Guards in Windsor: Monarch hails the 'indomitable' spirit of the regiment

The Queen has praised the 'indomitable family spirit' of the Welsh Guards as she presented new Colours to the regiment in its centenary year.

She and the Prince of Wales, who is regimental colonel of the unit, honoured more than 300 troops gathered for the ceremony in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

They were joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and Duchess of Cornwall as the royal family eagerly await news of whether the Duchess of Cambridge has gone into labour.

 Dressed in ceremonial red tunics and bearskins in the castle's quadrangle, it is the eighth time the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards has received new Colours, which are the regimental flags of the British Army.

Addressing the regiment, the Queen said: 'It has been nine years since I presented you with the Colours that have just been marched off parade.

Guardsmen who have served with the Regiment during those years, some of whom are no doubt here today, will have seen operational tours to Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, interspersed with fire-fighting, state ceremonial and other public duties.

 I am speaking to those Guardsmen and indeed to each and every one of you assembled here today, when I say that I am proud of what you have achieved together.

'It is the indomitable family spirit of the Welsh Guards that has been your hallmark.

'And so, in this historic year for the Regiment, we celebrate your many achievements and remember with sad reflection the fallen and wounded of the world wars and of more recent conflicts.

The Queen, dressed in a royal blue Karl Ludwig dress with matching coat, Angela Kelly hat and a Welsh Guards brooch, said she will send 8,000 centenarians messages of congratulations this year but 'no 100th birthday greeting will give greater pleasure' than the one given to the Welsh Guards.

 The infantry units of the British army each have two Colours; the Queen's Colour, which is a union flag and symbolises the regiment's loyalty to the Crown, and a regimental Colour which has all the unit's battle honours inscribed on it.

The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards received its first Colours at Buckingham Palace from King George V in 1915.

The Queen's Colour of the Welsh Guards carries a red dragon above the motto Cymru Am Byth in the centre, while the Regimental Colour carries a Company badge.

Its new pair of Colours carry 21 out of their 47 Battle Honours, the last being Falkland Islands 1982.