Queen Elizabeth II’s
Official Birthday and ‘Trooping the Colour’
Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926. She was the first child of
The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen
Elizabeth.
Did you know that
the Queen celebrates 2 birthdays?
She has her actual birthday on
21 April and then has an ‘official’ birthday in June. The Queen spends her
actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly by a 41 gun
salute in Hyde Park.
The official birthday is a tradition that started in 1748 and has
continued with Kings and Queens to date.
It generally will take place on the second Saturday in the month of
June.
Whether you love or hate the royal family the British citizens have a divided opinion on them. Some people believe that the royal’s cost the country far too much money, whilst the others believe the royal family brings in lots of revenue to the UK through tourism thereby helping our economy.
So for
example the tradition is that the king or queen has an "official"
birthday in early June. This is when the "Trooping the Colour" parade
takes place, involving about 1000 soldiers, 300 musicians and 200 horses. Tickets
are normally required to attend this event, but most spectators watch the
parade from the Mall. Thousands upon
thousands of people from all over the world come to watch this spectacular
ceremony, thus bringing money to the UK.
So what is
‘Trooping the Colour’, when does it start and how can I watch it?
The
"Colour" is a flag representing a regiment (section) of the army.
Many years ago, this flag was used to show soldiers where to gather during
battles or at other times. It was important for everyone to be able to
recognise his own Colour, so it was shown to all the soldiers at the end of
each day.
The Trooping the Colour ceremony is largely based on this tradition. Although the Colour is no longer used while fighting, it remains an important symbol of the regiment and its history. Battles in which the soldiers from that regiment have fought are shown on the flag.
Each year, the flag of one of the regiments of the Household Division is chosen to be the Colour. The Colour is taken in front of all of the soldiers on Horse Guards Parade, and is saluted as it goes past.
The Trooping the Colour ceremony is largely based on this tradition. Although the Colour is no longer used while fighting, it remains an important symbol of the regiment and its history. Battles in which the soldiers from that regiment have fought are shown on the flag.
Each year, the flag of one of the regiments of the Household Division is chosen to be the Colour. The Colour is taken in front of all of the soldiers on Horse Guards Parade, and is saluted as it goes past.
The event
starts when the first band leaves Wellington Barracks. It passes Buckingham Palace before marching
down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade. Other bands and foot soldiers follow soon
afterwards. The mounted guards arrive from Constitution Hill (on the south side
of Green Park).
Senior
members of the royal family leave Buckingham Palace from approximately 10.30
am - 10:45 am. The Queen's horse-drawn carriage is escorted along The Mall to
the parade ground, where the troops have all assembled.
The Queen rides past the soldiers in her
coach, inspecting them. She knows what standards to expect as she has performed
this duty every year practically each year since she became Queen.
The Foot Guards are perhaps the best known members
of the Household Division, because visitors to London can see them guarding the
front of Buckingham Palace. Soldiers must walk in step with each other, and
they perform quite complicated turning manoeuvres.
There
are 5 units - you can distinguish between them by observing the colours of the plumes
in their hats and the layout of the buttons on their tunics:
Grenadier Guards (white plumes and evenly-spaced tunic buttons)
Coldstream Guards (red plumes and tunic
buttons in twos)
Scots Guards (no plumes and tunic buttons in
threes)
Irish Guards (blue plumes and tunic buttons in
fours)
Welsh Guards (white-and-green plumes and tunic
buttons in fives)
As well as the foot soldiers, there are also
several hundred soldiers mounted on horseback. The horses are very well trained
- they must walk close to each other and remain calm at all times. Gravel has
been laid out on Horse Guards Parade to allow the horses to walk easily.
On the Queens official birthday (the
day of the Trooping the Colour ceremony) there is a gun salute in Green Park normally
before 1 pm in the afternoon. Here 41
guns are fired by the King's Troop.
Once
the ceremony has finished the Queen returns along the Mall back home to Buckingham
Palace. Crowds of people line both sides of the road in the hope to get a
glimpse of the Queen and wave to her.
After arriving back at Buckingham Palace, the Queen
and other members of the royal family appear on the palace balcony to greet the
crowds.
There is so much that goes on to help celebrate her Majesty’s the Queens official birthday.
If you are lucky enough to go to London to see the event it is likely that you will see The Royal Air Force aeroplanes fly over Buckingham Palace,(depending on the weather). This generally happens in the afternoon.
If you decide to take
a trip to London to watch the ‘Trooping of Colour’ we would love it if you
would share your photographs with us via facebook and Twitter.
To view the processions in The Mall. Events begin at approximately 10 a.m.
The Queen's Birthday Parade is also broadcast live on BBC television in the UK with the fly-past at 1 p.m.
To view the processions in The Mall. Events begin at approximately 10 a.m.
The Queen's Birthday Parade is also broadcast live on BBC television in the UK with the fly-past at 1 p.m.
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