After the dissolution of the Papal States in 1870, the Noble Guard lost their horses and became an infantry unit, though they were still referred to as cavalry due to their members' status as noble chevaliers; they also discarded their pistols and carbines, using sabers exclusively as duty weapons. This partial disarmament was reversed at the onset of World War II, when the Noble Guard guarded Vatican City around the clock.
The Noble Guard was disbanded in 1970 as part of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The idea of an elite cavalry regiment drawn exclusively from noble stock was deemed "out of touch" with the current age, and the regiment's assets were hastily seized by the Papal Secretariat of State...so hastily in fact that a planned sendoff ceremony by Pope Paul VI never had the chance to take place.
Veterans of the Noble Guard have since formed their own association, known as the Company of Broken Lances, where they preserve the memory of their illustrious regiment.
http://englishcatholicchurch.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-catholic-church-in-england.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:138_noble_bodyguard.jpg
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