What is Trooping the Colour? | The King's Birthday Tradition Explained

think of all the things that come to mind when you hear the words Great Britain and chances are you'll find many of them on a Saturday in June at the trooping the color Ceremony this military spectacle which marks the official birthday of the king or queen is the sort of event the United Kingdom does best pump pageantry music gun salutes flag waving crowds soldiers in bare skin caps and the extent Ed royal family at Buckingham Palace all tied up with red white and blue smoke [Applause] Trails trooping the color is believed to have started as a practice to ensure soldiers could easily spot their unit in the Heat and Chaos of battle different regiments of the British army carried their own Flags or colors on the battlefield the colors used to be trooped in front of the soldiers every day to make sure they could recognize their regiment the ceremony of trooping the color is believed to have first been performed for King Charles II who reigned between 1660 and 1685 it was first used to Mark the Monarch's official birthday in 1748 during the reign of King George II and became an annual tradition under his successor George III but we were still some way off from the ceremony that we recognize today horse guards parade on the opposite side of St james' Park from Buckingham Palace wasn't used for trooping the color until 1805 further changes took place at the start of the 20th century under Edward iith he was the first Monarch to regularly receive the Royal salute in person it was also Edward who was responsible for the Monarch having two official birthdays the reason for this is a typically British one Edward I 7 was born in November but decided to keep the official birthday ceremony in May or June because the weather would be better as it happened though three trooping the color ceremonies were cancelled during his Reign due to bad weather finally the parade has been held on a Saturday in June every year since 1959 with the exception of 2022 which was held on a Thursday during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations Elizabeth attended every trooping the color ceremony during her 70-year reign with the exception of just one in 1955 her birthday parade had to be cancelled due to a train strike number 10 Downing Street to review the latest developments in the railway dispute and to make plans for all emergencies Elizabeth also witnessed two slim down private trooping ceremonies in 2020 and 2021 configured to meet social distancing regulations during the covid-19 pandemic so who's involved well the monarch of the United Kingdom of course who is also commanderin-chief of the British armed forces the histories of the monarchy and the military are intertwined dating back to times when the King was responsible for raising and maintaining an army the king and other members of the royal family hold appointments and honorary ranks within the Armed Forces Charles III has a close relationship with all three branches of the military he received Royal Air Force training whilst he was at University flying chipmunk and Basset CC1 aircraft after his passing out ceremony Charles joined the Royal Navy serving on guided missile destroyers and as a Gunnery officer his military career ended in 1976 but as Prince of Wales he remained as regimental Colonel of the Welsh guards until 2022 when he exceeded to the throne the King's Birthday parade involves 1,400 officers and soldiers 200 horses and 400 musicians parading from Buckingham Palace down the m to horse guard's parade horeg guard's parade was formerly the tiltyard of the Palace of whitall which used to be the main residence of English monarchs until the end of the 17th century jousting and other tournament tours were held here during the reign of Henry VII the horse guards building on the Eastern side of the square used to be the headquarters of the British army during the 18th and 19th centuries members of the royal family often watched the birthday parade on the Square from the former Office of the Duke of Wellington who commanded British Le forces to victory in the 1815 Battle of watero more recently it was used to host the beach volleyball competition during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London the soldiers who take part in the parade form one of the oldest bodies within the British army the household division they are the king's personal troops and have been since the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 following the end of the English Civil War and subsequent interregnum the household division includes five regiments of foot guards the Grenadier guards the Cold Stream guards the Scots guards the Irish [Music] guards and the Welsh guards only one color can be trooped in front of the Sovereign at the birthday parade and so the five regiments take turns to do so annually soldiers are divided into six foot guard companies who form an l-shape around the perimeter of the horse guard's parade Square this is similar to a defensive formation called The Hollow Square used in battle to protect the regiment's color the number one guard are called the escort for the color [Music] three the guards have now formed up and members of the royal family begin to arrive in barouche coaches the Sovereign rides down the M either on Horseback or by Carriage Queen Elizabeth II rode her May burmes at the parade from 1969 to 1986 six in 1981 a man shot six blanks at both the Monarch and her mayare on the corner of the Mal and hor guards Road burmes was startled and it took the Queen's skills as a horsewoman to bring her under control both were unharmed in 1987 burmes was retired and Elizabeth began traveling by Carriage instead burmes subsequently joins the police parttime before being put out to grass in the fields of Windsor once you've ridden a horse of this caliber um all other horses pale into the distance another famous horse in the household Cavalry was sefon a black gelding who was severely injured by an IRA bomb at Hyde Park in 1982 but recovered and returned to duties just two months later he's a strong character obviously extremely strong character yeah he retired in 1984 and died in 1993 at the age of 30 King Charles III debuted his May Noble at the 23 parade his first trooping the color as Monarch born and raised in Ontario the 16.2 hand black hanovarian was a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the occasion of Charles and queen Camilla's coronation not such a long the king must have remembered his own words at Noble's first trooping the color when she appeared Restless it took much of Charles's experience and skill to command her the Monarch is a accompanied to horse guard's parade by the sovereign's escort consisting of the troops of the household Cavalry mounted regiment and the mounted bands they all salute the color as they pass by the timing at this event is precise The Sovereign arrives at the entrance to HSE guard's building at exactly 11:00 when he reaches the DAT the king is greeted by a royal salute and the playing of the national anthem [Music] re [Music] [Music] [Music] the king then inspects the troops wearing their full dress ceremonial uniform of red coat and bare skin caps the Scarlet tunic originate from the Welsh red of the House of chuda the bare skin caps were originally worn by the French Imperial Guard and then adopted by the Grenadier guards after the battle of [Music] woo the procession turns before number six guard and salutes the color [Music] The Sovereign salutes the king's troop during this inspection he is led by the Brigade major and followed by the two mounted Royal Colonels the Princess Royal Colonel of the Blues and Royals and the colonel of that Year's trooping regiment the Prince of Wales for the Welsh guards The Duchess of Cambridge for the Irish guards the Duke of Edinburgh for the Scots guards leftenant General Sir James bucknor for the colding guards and the queen for the Grenadier guards the king takes his place on the days for the rest of the ceremony the masked bands of the foot guards perform a musical troop a quick and a slow tune and the color of the regiment is carried through the ranks of the foot guards [Music] done the [Music] center next comes the drummer's call the signal to the escort for the color to March to the center of the square and collect the color [Music] the sergeant major moves to the rear of the escort and draws his sword for the only time in the ceremony and formally takes charge of the color he then hands it over to the end sign to be trooped this is the most significant moment in the ceremony there is another Royal salute and the opening six bars of the national anthem are played [Music] the escort for the color having taken possession now becomes the escort to the color the foot guards then March past in slow and quick time before the king's troop Royal Horse artillery and the sovereign's escort of the household Cavalry ride past at the walk and the Trump [Music] right [Music] [Applause] me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] my [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] right then comes a salute from the drum horses these are the biggest horses in the parade the two used in the 20123 ceremony are called Apollo and Juno the other two are named pereus and Atlas Juno was officially named by Queen Camila in the week leading up to that Year's ceremony after the walk and trop pasts the director of Music signals to hand back control to the field officer which is followed by another Royal [Music] salute the field officer asks The Sovereign permission to March off now Begins the March back to Buckingham Palace [Music] the king rides back to the Palace at the head of his guards before taking a further salute at Center gate and the troops return to Barracks this formly marks the end of the parade the guards having escorted The Sovereign back to Buckingham Palace a great ceremonial Royal Standard flies above measuring 11.6x 5.8 M it is similar in size to a badminton court it only flies on special occasions including the birthday parade and also the annual G service at Windsor [Music] Castle the crowds are finally allowed to Surge down the M towards the gates of Buckingham Palace where they will see the royal family appear on the balcony [Music] the m is lined with 66 Union Jacks whilst hu's Road displays the flags of member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations meanwhile a 41 gun salute is fired by the king's troop Royal Horse artillery from the Green Park to the north of Buckingham Palace why 41 guns well one Theory says that the tradition of a 21 gun salute dates back to the 15th century when 21 rounds would be fired from guns in a harbor to welcome an unarmed warship that had no hostile intentions the Green Park is one of eight Royal parks in London and an additional 20 rounds are added if it takes place in any of these Parks the salute takes 6 minutes to complete finally at 1:00 the royal family gather on Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a fly past this is the Royal Air Force's time to shine but hosting an array of modern military aircraft it also features a Battle of Britain Memorial flight comprising a Lancaster bomber flanked by hurricanes or Spitfires the aircraft used in the second world war a fly past was performed for the first time at trooping the color in 1913 for King George V by what was then called The Royal flying Corp the crown jewel in the fly past and for many people of the entire day is the Royal Air Force aerobatic team better known as the Red Arrows who leave trails of red white and blue smoke as they fly low over Buckingham Palace but it is not just these nine pilots who have their moment in the sun it also gives the crowd below and the people watching at home a chance to see what Antics the Royal children get up to on the balcony [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] so that's the birthday parade celebrations over but did you know that trooping the color actually takes place over three consecutive weekends two weeks before the main event comes the major General's review followed by the Colonel's review the weekend after these both serve as dress rehearsals for the birthday parade but feature fewer mounted officers in the major General's review it is the major general commanding the household division who inspects the soldiers rather than the king equally in the Colonel's review it is the colonel of that Year's regiment who inspects the troops in 2023 it was William Prince of Wales as the Welsh guards trooped their color the ceremonies can take their toll on the soldiers involved particularly when London's summer temperatures surpass 30° C soldiers have been known to faint in the baking heat and have to be stretched off to receive attention a reminder of the huge amounts of concentration Fitness and stamina required of the soldiers on Parade trooping the color is a vibrant display of military prowess and precision equestrian expertise stirring music and public celebration its traditions and adaptations through the centuries are a fitting way to Mark the birthday of The Sovereign the national figurehead who continually balances the country's tension between change and continuity like every birthday celebration inclement weather industrial action and a Corona virus pandemic have all managed to Scupper or alter plans but this most British of traditions always returns bigger louder and more colorful than ever

Channel: The Royal Family Channel

Views: 126,589

Keywords: Royal Family, British royals, British Royal Family, Royal news, Royal history, Royal Family Channel, Trooping the Colour, birthday parade, Queen Elizabeth, King Charles, Buckingham Palace, Household Cavalry, horse guards parade, Irish Guards, welsh guards, blues and royals, Royal horses, Prince William, Princess Anne, Princess Catherine, kate middleton, Prince Louis, prince louis funny moments, gun salute, 41 gun salute, Red Arrows, RAF, flypast over buckingham palace

Id: XOphfbbMH14

Length: 27min 9sec (1629 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 15 2024