in Roman antiquity, a regiment of body-guards belonging to the Roman kings, established by Romulus, and composed of 300 young men, chosen out of the most illustrious Roman families, and approved by the suffrages of the curiae of the people, each of which furnished ten. The name comes from celere, "quick, ready;" and was given them because of their promptness to obey the king.

The celeres always attended near the king's person, to guard him, to be ready to carry his orders, and to execute them. In war, they made the van-guard in the engagement, which they always began first; in retreats, they made the rear-guard.

Though the celeres were a body of horse, yet they usually dismounted, and fought on foot; their commander was called tribune, or prefect of the celeres. They were divided into three troops, of 100 each, commanded by a captain called centurio: their tribune was the second person in the kingdom.

Plutarch says, Numa broke the celeres; if this be true, they were soon re-established; for we find them under most of the succeeding kings: witness the great Brutus, who expelled the Tarquins, and who was the tribune of the celeres.