Scottish and Irish regiments were only allowed to take a rank in the English army from the date of their arrival in England or the date when they were first placed on the English establishment. The order of seniority for the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. With the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 the British Army came into existence (see Creation of British Army). Doubts as to the respective rank of regiments fighting in the Spanish Netherlands led William III to command a Board of General Officers meeting on 10 June 1694 to establish the order of precedence of the various units. The rank of regiments of the English Army was first fixed during the Nine Years' War.
Introduction Rank and numbering Establishment of precedence 1.2.2 Fusiliers, light infantry and rifles.