The Royal Welsh have paraded goats since 1844, when Queen Victoria gifted a Persian herd. Welsh troops saw the animals as symbols of mountain toughness and decided to enlist one officially. It boosts morale, grabs headlines, and defies logic, but no one questions centuries-old quirks.
June 2006 brought the Queen’s 80th birthday parade in sweltering Cyprus. Officers figured Billy’s experience made him reliable. He wasn’t. Spotting the drummer’s kilt, Billy charged and headbutted the musician mid-march, turning the ceremony into chaos.
In 2001, Billy Windsor I joined the 1st Battalion as a fusilier and quickly earned promotion to lance corporal. He led marches, ate in the corporals’ mess, and wore a silver headplate, with a handler called the Goat Major keeping him in line.
Billy faced charges for unacceptable behavior and dropped to fusilier. Activists protested that he was “just being a goat,” but the army demoted him anyway.
Three months later, Billy aced a remedial parade. A brigadier reinstated his rank, proving second chances apply even to mascots.
He retired honorably in 2009, succeeded by Billy II. The story endures as proof that the silliest traditions outlast reason.
