On November 19, 1894, in St. Petersburg, in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Nicholas II became chief of the Royal Scots Greys — the 2nd Dragoons of the British army. The officers were informed about their new honorary chief back in October 1894, when it was announced that Queen Victoria had distinguished the regiment by appointing the Emperor of Russia its Colonel-in-Chief.

In December, the officers decided to send a delegation to St. Petersburg to present their chief with a new uniform and a memorable gift. After much discussion, they commissioned a painting that the emperor could hang in one of his palaces. It was to depict Nicholas II in the Scots Greys uniform with the regimental formation in the background.

On February 2, at 3 p.m., the delegation arrived at the Anichkov Palace. When they entered the living room, Emperor Nicholas II came out to meet them. He greeted the colonel by shaking his hand and introduced him to the empress. Then the rest of the officers were presented to the imperial couple. The officers were surprised and flattered by such a cordial reception. The colonel thanked Nicholas II for having given the regiment a great honor by becoming its chief, Nicholas, in turn, replied that he was proud of the honor that the Queen of Great Britain had granted him.

The colonel described the painting in detail, and the emperor highly appreciated the gift. He said that he had seen the Scots Greys in Oldermo in the UK and that he enjoyed their gray horses. The officers were asked about their future plans during their stay in Russia, and they replied that they would like to visit Moscow. At the end of the meeting, Nicholas II handed the colonel invitations from many regiments of the Guards, including His Majesty’s Life Guards Hussar Regiment, where he himself served for four years and where they rode gray horses, like the Scots Greys.

Currently, about 30 items from the set of the chief’s uniform of Nicholas II have been preserved in the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum and Heritage Site. The full set included almost 40 items. Not a single pair of shoes has survived to this day. From the diary of Lieutenant Colonel Hippisley, a participant in the Russia trip, it was established that the emperor was presented with three pairs of shoes: high patent leather ceremonial boots and two pairs of Wellington boots, as well as spurs.

In 2013, the Scots Greys, having learned about the losses in the collection, donated to the museum a pair of high boots with spurs.