Trooping the Colour

This year I was lucky to have been invited to Trooping the Colour. This is an important and extravagant ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies to mark the official birthday of the Queen.

Although I was not particularly thrilled when told I had to wear a hat, I admit that it was fun to go out and shop for one. My friend and I headed to Whitehall Saturday morning and were surprised to see so many other “invitees” travelling on the tube. The show for me started when we arrived at our allocated stand. There were representatives from the military and from the Church of England as well as British socialite habitués who knew each other.  Almost all of the women wore hats or fascinators and the men wore morning suits or formal uniforms.

Although it was only decided in 1748 that the parade would be  used to mark the official birthday of the Sovereign and would become an annual event, it is believed that the Ceremony was first performed during the reign of King Charles II (1660 - 1685). Queen Elizabeth II has taken the salute at every parade since the beginning of her reign in 1952, with the exception of 1955 when there was a national rail strike.  Until 1986 she took the salute riding side-saddle on her horse, but since then the Queen travels down The Mall from Buckingham Palace seated in a beautiful carriage as part of a royal procession escorted by the sovereign's Household Cavalry.

It was thrilling to see her at such a close distance and lovely to see her smiling. It was exciting to see the other members of the royal family as well. After receiving the royal salute, her Majesty inspected the troops of the Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards. There was a lot of marching and many customs that I did not understand but it was still fascinating to watch. “God Save the Queen” was played several times and of course, we had to stand each time.

It is amazing to see such traditional and formal ceremonies in such a modern country and I guess it is this constant contrast we are all experiencing that makes this a great place to live in.

Written by Alessandra Gnudi who is FOCUS Executive Director.

For more information about FOCUS visit: www.focus-info.org