Official Ceremonies In London
Changing the Guard
Nearby the Buckingham Palace are the Chelsea and Wellington Barracks where the Household Guards are quartered. It is from there that they march through the streets, through the Northern gate into the Palace court. The Guards are led by a drum major under the tattoo of drums and band.
The soldiers are chosen from five regiments of the Foot Guards known as the Brigade of Guards of the Queen and Royal family (body-guards). They consist of the Grenadiers who lead the parade, then the Coldstream Guards followed by the Welsh, Irish and Scots Guards.
Each regiment bears two colours (banners): their own and the Royal flag when the Queen is at the Palace. The Guard is on duty for 24 hours and as it enters the Palace Gate, the Guard to be freed from duty stands at attention in files (rows) until the Guard on duty is halted opposite them. Then the captains of the Guard exchange salutes, the band begins to play, the Guard off duty parades in a slow ceremonial march out of the Palace through the South Gate to barracks.
It is needless to say that all traffic between the Palace and barracks is closed to mobile transport but the sidewalks are full of people wishing to see this unique and traditional parade. First of all the Guards represent the various nationalities that form the United Kingdom.
The original Guards from England were the Grenadiers (later Coldstream Guards). The motto of the Coldstream "nulli secundus" in Latin means "second to none".
The Grenadiers originally were the tallest and the finest soldiers, picked for their stature and strength not less than 6 feet 4 inches (190 centimeters) to throw grenades which weighed 5 pounds (about 2.2 kg).
The Grenadiers wear bear skin caps 20 inches high (30 cm), which make them seen even taller. The bear skin cap by tradition is made of Canadian grizzly bear skin.
The Scots Guards wear the traditional kilts to this very day. During World War I the Germans nicknamed them "Ladies from Hell" for their fighting qualities.
The Welsh Guards wear a wide black ribbon on the back of their uniform collar, about 15 cm wide and 25 cm long. It remained as a tradition from the time when the Guards wore wigs and these ribbons were worn not to dirty their uniform coats.
All the Guards wear scarlet or red tunics (jackets) and blue trousers except the Scots Guards which wear their traditional regimental Scots clothes.
The Irish Guards wear a triple row of brass buttons and distinctive plumes.
Mounting the Guard
Already long before the ceremony begins, groups of sightseers and tourists from all parts of Britain and the world with their photo and film cameras ready, line both sides of the Northern Gate, the main entrance into Buckingham Palace. What goes inside the Palace court can be easily seen because the ceremonial court is seperated from the public by a beautiful iron fence.
The ceremony depends on whether or not the Queen is in residence in London. If she is in residence, the Royal flag is raised at sunrise on the mast of the roof of the Palace.
In this ceremony the Household Cavalry takes part. These are troops appointed to guard the Royal Family and the Residence. In Great Britain the Household troops are 1st and 2nd Life Guards sometimes called "The Tins", and the Royal Horse Guards, known as the "Blues".
The Life Guards wear scarlet uniforms and white metal helmets with white horsehair plumes and have white sheepskin saddles. The Royal Horse Guards wear deep-blue tunics and white metal helmets with red horsehair plumes and have black sheepskin saddles.
It is because of scarlet uniforms that the British soldiers were nicknamed scarlet or red jackets all over the world until the Boer war of 1899 – 1902 when due to military necessity the British army was the first to change to khaki coloured uniforms that made them less seen in the battle field.
Both the Royal and Life Guards wear breast and back plates made of shiny steel armour which was actually worn during the famous battle of Waterloo in which Napoleon's army was completely defeated.
The ceremony of Mounting the Guard can be seen at 11 a.m. every weekday and at 10 a.m. on Sundays. If the Queen is in residence, the ceremony is performed by what has become known as the "long guard".
The guard is commanded by an officer in charge of sixteen troopers, a corporal of horse, a corporal major, and a trumpeter. The trumpeter rides a grey horse; the others ride black horses. The Royal standard (flag) is carried.
First the old guard is dismissed. It stands in the forecourt, which faces Whitehall. With the arrival of the new guard, the trumpeter sounds a call. The two officers salute and then stand their horses side by side while the guard is changed. The ceremony lasts for over fifteen minutes, and ends with the old guard returning to its barracks.
Trooping the Colour
It is a ceremony in which the colours (regiment flags) are carried and are accompanied by a military band escort. The soldiers march slowly in single file (row), and usually in a hollow square.
Each year on the second Saturday in June at about 11.15 a.m. the ceremony is held on the "official" birthday of the Queen. In June the weather is usually fine and the brilliant colours of the uniforms of the Guards are seen to best advantage.
Today's ceremony is the inspection parade of the Queen's own soldiers. Usually the parade is witnessed by thousands of tourists. The Queen riding side-saddle on a highly trained horse, is dressed in the uniform of the Guards regiment whose colours are inspected.
For twenty minutes the whole parade stands to attention while being inspected by the Queen. Then comes the Trooping ceremony itself which is followed by the famous march past the Guards to the music of military bands, at which the Queen takes the salute.
The ceremony ends with the Queen returning to Buckingham Palace at the head of her Guards.
The Ceremony of the Keys
In present days, just as 700 years ago the traditional Ceremony of the Keys takes place at the gates of the Tower of London. At 9.53 p.m. the Chief Warder carrying a lantern lit by a single candle marches to the Bloody Tower. There the escort waits. The party moves off, the Chief Warder carrying the keys. The West Gale is locked by the Chief Warder while the escort presents arms. The Middle and Byward Towers are next locked by similar procedure. The party returns to the Bloody Tower archway where it is halted by the sentry. "Halt!" he commands. "Who goes there?" The Chief Warder replies, "The Keys". To this the sentry demands, "Whose Keys?" The Chief Warder replies, "Queen Elizabeth's Keys." The sentry finally says, "Advance, Queen Elizabeth's Keys, all's well". Having received permission to go through the Bloody Tower archway, the party forms up facing the main guard of the Tower. The officer-in-charge orders the guard to present arms, then the Chief Warder cries, "God preserve Queen Elizabeth". "Amen", answer the guard and escort. Exactly at 10 p.m. the bugler sounds the Last Post and the main guard of the Tower and the escort to the keys present arms. Meanwhile, the Chief Warder proceeds to the Queen's House to return the keys of the Tower to the custody of the Resident Governor and Major.
The Sovereign's Entry’s into the City of London
The word "Sovereign" came into English from Latin, it means: a) selfruler; b) independent. Since England is headed by a Sovereign (a King or a Queen), it has become the official title.
An interesting tradition is that whenever the Sovereign wishes to enter the City of London on state occasions, he or she must receive permission from the Lord Mayor of London who meets the Monarch at Temple Bar, the City boundary.
The Lord Mayor takes the beautifully pearled hilt of the sword, lays it across his left arm towards the Sovereign as a symbol that he surrenders his power during the visit and the Monarch's power is supreme. The Sovereign touches the hilt with his (her) fingers which means that he or she accepts the invitations to enter the City.
Then the Lord Mayor with the City's Pearl Sword in hand leads the procession and the royal party enters with a limited amount of Household and Horse Guards on both sides of the royal carriage. This tradition dates back to 1215 when King John signed the Magna Charter. By this document the Sovereign's absolute power was limited. Since then the Monarch must consult the peers and Parliament, The Lord Mayor's office was created.
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