The Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo was an annual

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

held in the private grounds of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

by permission of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, from 2008 to 2011. The event's proceeds went to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

to help support recently returned troops from battle. The Tattoo website described itself as: :...a celebration of the capabilities of today’s forces through music and action. It is a tri-service event and has a packed programme of international and British military acts, massed bands, pipes and drums, modern military re-enactments and a fantastic finale.....The Tattoo tells the story of modern life in each of the services (the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

) and large screens show footage from each of the services in action in war zones, taking the audience to the current operational environment. The Windsor Tattoo was similar to the

Royal Tournament The Royal Tournament was the world's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall and latterly the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. In its l ...

, the world's largest military tattoo which was axed by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

in 1999. In 2009 the Tattoo saw the return of the Royal Navy Field Gun Race 10 years after it was laid to rest along with the

References

External links

Windsor Tattoo at Youtube
{{Coord, 51, 29, 0, N, 00, 36, 15, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Military of the United Kingdom Royal Tattoo Festivals in London Military tattoos