THE Army regiment which is taking over from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment has appeared in public for the first time with the red rose taking pride of place on new uniforms.

Soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, which comes into force on July 1, proudly marched together at Fulwood Barracks in Preston on Saturday.

Their caps badge strongly features the red rose of Lancashire, which was also on the regimental flag when it was hoisted for the first time.

Thousands turned out to see the inaugural beating of the retreat and flag raising for the new regiment, which merges the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and its two counterparts covering Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria.

The band played 13 selections for the crowd, which was gathered in the main courtyard in the barracks.

The guards then marched on to applause.

From July 1 the three existing regiments will continue in three battalions as part of the new Duke of Lancaster's regiment.

The QLR will be the 1st battalion, The King's Regiment will be the 2nd battalion while the King's Own Royal Border Regiment will form the 3rd battalion.

It is planned to eventually merge this last battalion into the other two.

The 4th battalion will be made up of Territorial Army volunteers, who were also invited to Saturday's colourful demonstration.