trooping of the colour

Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, and since 1748 has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign, although its roots go back much earlier.

Each year, one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the Household Division is selected to troop (carry) its colours through the ranks of guards. The colours were once used on the battlefield as a rallying point.
During the ceremony, the monarch travels down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in a royal procession with a sovereign's escort of Household Cavalry (mounted troops or horse guards). After receiving a royal salute, the monarch inspects his troops of the Household Division and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.

The entire Household Division assembly then conducts a march past the monarch. Parading with its guns, the King's Troop takes precedence as the mounted troops perform a walk-march and trot-past. Music is provided by the massed bands of the Foot Guards and the mounted Band of the Household Cavalry, together with a Corps of Drums, and occasionally pipers, totalling approximately 400 musicians.

Returning to Buckingham Palace, the monarch watches a further march-past from outside the gates. Following a 41-gun salute by the King's Troop in Green Park, the royal family make an appearance on the palace balcony for a Royal Air Force flypast.

Sovereign's official birthday

Sovereign's birthday parade

In the United Kingdom, Trooping the Colour is also known as the King's Birthday Parade. First performed during the reign of King Charles II (1660–1685), in 1748 it was decided that the parade of Trooping the Colour should mark the official birthday of the Sovereign. In 1760, after the accession of King George III, it became an annual event."Origins of Trooping the Colour", Household Division Trooping the Colour website
Accessed 31 May 2022

In 1892, the only member of the royal family to attend was Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, due to court mourning for the death of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. Queen Victoria herself only attended Trooping the Colour once, in 1895, when it was held at Windsor Castle. Although some elements of the parade have remained fairly constant, the ceremonial seen today was not fixed until 1889.

Sovereign's "Official Birthday"

It was Edward VII who moved Trooping the Colour to its June date, because of the vagaries of British weather (his actual birthday being in November).[Brian Hoey, ''Royalty Revealed: A Majestic Miscellany'', Biteback Publishing, n.d. Entry under "Birthday Greetings" It is held annually on the second Saturday in June, coinciding with publication of the Birthday Honours List, and usually takes place at Horse Guards Parade by St James's Park, London. It is followed by a 41-gun salute at noon in Green Park, and a flypast over Buckingham Palace, watched by the royal family from the Palace balcony.

Since 1959, it has been held on a Saturday in June. From 1979 to 2017 it was always held on the Saturday falling between 11 and 17 June; however, in 2018 it was held on 9 June and in 2019 on 8 June. During 2020 and 2021, a modified ceremony took place at Windsor Castle due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Trooping the Colour was held on a Thursday, the date of 2 June coinciding with the anniversary of the Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on 2 June 1953.

Broadcast

The parade is witnessed by a global TV audience of many millions. Over the years, commentary for the annual live broadcast in the UK by BBC1 has been provided by Huw Edwards and also by Clare Balding, together with expert guests and interviews with some of the personnel involved. The BBC's live broadcast has become accessible to an international audience via live streaming on BritBox in both the United States and Canada. The BBC also streams it live on YouTube beginning with the 2019 edition.

For the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, additional live videos commentary of the parade for international viewers were provided by Sky News UK and the Telegraph newspaper's YouTube channels.

Sovereign's participation

Queen Elizabeth II attended Trooping the Colour in every year of her reign, except in 1955 when the event was cancelled due to a national rail strike. Riding her mare Burmese (horse) between 1969 and 1986, The Queen rode in a carriage from 1987 onward. On 13 June 1981, she and her horse were startled by an unemployed youth, Marcus Sarjeant, who fired six blank rounds from a starting revolver.
In her years attending on horseback, the Queen, as Colonel-in-Chief, wore a biretta and a Guards Regiment uniform with the medals she was awarded before becoming Queen (Order of the Crown of India; Defence Medal; War Medal 1939–1945; King George V Silver Jubilee Medal; King George VI Coronation Medal; Canadian Forces Decoration) and the riband and star of the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle or a combination of those orders, depending which regiment was trooping its colour. From 1987 onward she did not wear uniform, but wore the Brigade of Guards badge.

Her 80th birthday in 2006 was marked by a large flypast of 40 planes led by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and culminating with the Red Arrows. It was followed by the first feu de joie ("fire of joy") fired in her presence during her reign, a second being fired at her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. In 2008, a flypast of 55 aircraft commemorated the RAF's 90th anniversary.

Participants and parade summary

On the day of Trooping the Colour, the Royal Standard is flown from Buckingham Palace and from Horse Guards Building.

A note on sources

The information for the ensuing section is drawn from the visuals and music, plus the annual commentary and analysis on the BBC's live broadcast, as well as the annual programme for the event.

Foot Guards, including Escort to the Colour (No. 1 Guard)

''Nos. 1–6 Guards'' – six companies of Foot Guards, each comprising 3 officers and 71 other ranks - line two sides of the perimeter of Horse Guards Parade in an extended "L" shape. This recalls the defensive formation known as the " hollow square."

All six companies are collectively commanded as "Guards..." and individually by company number, e.g., "No. 3 Guard..." Up to eight Guards have taken part, the number varying over the years. The most Guards ever seen on parade was 11, as seen on the 1919 parade held in Hyde Park.

The battalion trooping its colour in any given year is No. 1 Guard. During the parade, they are referred to as 'Escort FOR the Colour' (and, once they have collected their colour during the ceremony, as 'Escort TO the Colour'). At the outset, the colour is held by the Colour Party – a colour sergeant and two other guardsmen of No. 1 Guard, standing well-spaced on the northern side of Horse Guards Parade. Once obtained by the Regimental Sergeant Major of No. 1 Guard, the colour is borne through the ranks of Nos. 2–6 Guards by an Ensign of No. 1 Guard.

Mounted troops and Sovereign's Escort

Lining the edge of St. James's Park are the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment – the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals – as well as the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.

In the Royal Procession, the Household Cavalry are termed "Sovereign's Escort". Two divisions ride before the King mounted on horseback and two behind, and the Life Guards and Blues and Royals alternate these positions each year.

Commanding officers and parade coordination

Three mounted officers drawn from No. 1 Guard give drill commands during the parade. The most senior is the Field Officer in Brigade Waiting (rank of Lieutenant Colonel), assisted by the Major of the Parade. The Field Officer occupies a central position on the parade ground. The third mounted officer is the Adjutant.

The Garrison Sergeant Major of London District, who is not mounted, coordinates the whole event on the parade ground and the approach road from The Mall.

Military bands

With almost 400 musicians on the field, led by the Massed Bands of the Household Division, the music forms an integral part of the day. The massed bands of the Foot Guards number over 200 musicians. Joining them, since 2014, is the Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry. The musicians of all these bands are all members of the Royal Corps of Army Music. There is also a Corps of Drums from several of the regiments and, on some occasions, pipe bands of the Scots Guards and Irish Guards. As per divisional tradition, the Corps of Drums and Pipe Bands form up behind the Massed Bands. As per Queen Elizabeth II's request, during a Scots or Irish Guards troop, the Pipers would march to the front of the Massed Bands to play the regimental quick marches of the Scots and Irish Guards as their Guards march past in quick time.

Summary of the parade design

The entire parade is best understood as an exercise of several elements carried out in slow and quick march time, with the Trooping the Colour phase forming the centrepiece.

* The Sovereign inspects first the Foot Guards and then the Household Cavalry and King's Troop, to slow and quick march music respectively.
* Then the massed bands "troop" before the Sovereign in slow and quick time. A lone drummer breaks away to no 1 Guard.
* Drummer's Call signals No. 1 Guard – the Escort for the Colour – to march to the centre of the field and obtain their colour from the Colour Party. The massed bands execute the "Spin Wheel" manoeuvre.
* As "Escort to the Colour", No. 1 Guard then slowly troops its regimental colour through the ranks of Guards Nos. 6–2.
* After forming divisions, Nos. 1–6 Guards march past the Sovereign in slow and quick time.
* To music from the mounted band, the King's Troop leads the Household Cavalry past the Sovereign, first in walk-march and then in sitting-trot (i.e., slow and quick time for the horses). The mounted band then salute the Sovereign as they walk off.
* Finally, led by the Sovereign's Escort, the massed bands play the Sovereign back to Buckingham Palace, the foot guards following, as the King's Troop leaves Horse Guards first to Green Park.

Ceremonial commands and troop movements

The entire parade is supervised by the Field Officer in Brigade Waiting (sometimes shortened to "Field Officer"), with the assistance of the Brigade Major and the Adjutant, all on horseback, and joined by the London District Garrison Sergeant Major, who is unmounted and coordinates the proceedings of the ceremony.

March on

A detail of guardsmen bearing marker flags marches on, to mark the positions of Nos. 1-6 Guards. (These marker flags are the respective company colours from each regiment.)

Preceded by their regimental bands, Nos. 1-6 Guards march into position. No. 1 Guard is "Escort for the Colour."

*Nos. 1-5 Guards align in two ranks on the west side of the parade ground facing Horse Guards Building.
*No. 6 Guard lines up perpendicular to them on the north side, thus making an "L" shape. Up to eight Guards companies may take part. Nos. 7 and 8 Guards, if present, would line up next to No. 6 Guard. In 2009, to reflect the successful recruitment efforts of the Irish Guards, there were seven Guards on Horseguards.
*The massed bands are on the south side, by the gardens of 10 Downing Street.
*Adjacent to No. 6 Guard is the Colour Party made up of 3 soldiers. A snare drummer joins them in the march on. As the party takes its place the drummer marches off and the colour's casing is removed, revealing the colour to be trooped.
*The King's Troop, the Household Cavalry, and their mounted band form up behind Nos. 1-5 Guards.

With the foot guards in their home service order and the mounted band in state dress uniform, the assembled ranks of Household Division make a colourful spectacle.

Guards half-companies line up on the road to Horse Guards Parade to provide security to the Royal Family that will arrive later and to the marching and mounted contingents.

Arrival of the sovereign

Preceding the sovereign, senior members of the royal family arrive in barouches to view the ceremony from a central first floor window in the Duke of Wellington's former office in Horse Guards Building. This procession turns at the Guards Memorial, and No. 3 Guard has opened ranks to allow their carriages to pass through.

Preceded by the Sovereign's Escort, the King (Colonel-in-Chief) will journey from Buckingham Palace down the Mall, on horseback. Directly behind the King in the Royal Procession ride the Royal Colonels—the Prince of Wales (Welsh Guards) and the Princess Royal (Blues and Royals), —who are followed by the non-royal Colonels of Regiments (those of the Coldstream Guards and the Life Guards). Other officers of the Household Division and of the Royal Household follow, all mounted, including the Master of the Horse, the Major-General commanding the Household Division with his chief of staff and aide-de-camp, Silver Stick-in-Waiting, the regimental adjutants and a number of the King's equerries.

As the King arrives, the Royal Standard is prepared to be released and flown from the roof of Horse Guards. The King will salute the Queen Consort (colonel of the Grenadier Guards) who is at a window above Horseguards and then will alight at the Saluting Base to start the ceremonies.

The field officer commences the parade with the command: "Guards - Royal Salute - Present Arms!" and the national anthem (God Save The King) is played by the Household Division's Foot Guards Massed Bands, led by the senior director of music of the Household Division. Simultaneously, the Royal Standard is formally released and flies from the Horse Guards flagpole.

Inspection of the line

The King then rides off from the saluting base before and behind the long line of assembled guards, with the Royal Colonels following. BBC
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