Thank you to those constituents who have contacted me about the Queen's Guard's ceremonial caps.
I am aware of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) ongoing campaign to replace the real fur used in the bearskin Queen’s Guards ceremonial caps with faux fur.
Guardsmen take great pride in wearing the bearskin cap which is an iconic image of Britain. It must look smart but also be practical for the guardsman to wear in wet or dry weather. While I understand that the man-made fabric was passed to an independent testing house and PETA shared these results with the MOD, MOD analysis of the results shows that the faux fur does not in fact reach the standards needed to provide an effective replacement for the caps. The faux fur met only one of the five requirements to be considered as a viable alternative for ceremonial caps.
Whilst it met the basic standard for water absorption, it showed unacceptable rates of water shedding and performed poorly on the visual assessment. As the artificial fur sadly didn't meet the standards required for a ceremonial cap which is worn throughout the year and in all weathers, the MOD has no plans to take this faux fur forward.
Thank you again for contacting me.