Orange Lilies
Preserved but no longer current.
The nickname of the old 35th Foot, now the Royal Sussex Regiment, raised at Belfast in 1701 by the Earl of Donegal. A firm supporter of William III he chose orange facings for the uniform; the lilies represent the white plumes given in recog- nition of their gallantry at Quebec in 1759, when they routed the Royal Roussillon French Grenadiers.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Orange Lilies” mean?
The nickname of the old 35th Foot, now the Royal Sussex Regiment, raised at Belfast in 1701 by the Earl of Donegal. A firm supporter of William III he chose orange facings for the uniform; the lilies represent the white plumes given in recog- nition of their gallantry at Quebec in 1759, when they routed the Royal Roussillon French Grenadiers.
Is “Orange Lilies” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.