The Regiment was originally raised in Ireland in 1789 from the "Light Troop" of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, and wore a scarlet uniform, the facings being at first yellow and afterwards black. It is a curious fact that a detachment of the regiment under Sir Robert Wilson was present with the Russian Army in their operations against Napoleon in his famous capture of and return from Moscow in 1812 and in the subsequent campaign in Germany. The present regiment was raised in 1861 by volunteers from the late Hon. East India Company's 2nd Bengal European Light Cavalry. It was subsequently permitted to assume the honours of the old 20th Light Dragoons: "Vimiera" and "Peninsula." Part of the regiment was employed in the Suakin Expedition, 1885, and subsequently did good service with the Egyptian Frontier Force in 1885-6.

Nicknamed the "X's."