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 Changing of the Guard, Royal Pageantry and Ceremonies
 Elizabeth II
The colourful pageantry and ceremonies of the British Royalty are renowned throughout the world. For spectators, Royal ceremonies like the Trooping of the Colour, The Changing of the Guard or the Jubilee are memorable events that will be remembered forever.
Royal ceremonies are important symbolic events steeped in centuries of heritage and Royal protocol. Many of these ceremonies form part of the Queen ’s duties as Sovereign of the state and are embodied in British tradition. The public ceremonies attract visitors in their thousands and are watched by many more millions around the globe and for many are a key feature to a visit to Britain.
One of the biggest annual events in the Royal calendar is the Trooping of the Colour to celebrate the Sovereign’s birthday, though the Queen’s actual birthday is on April 21st. The ceremony dates back to the 18th century and sees the troops from the Household Division (the Footguards and the Household Cavalry) parade the flags of their battalion- or Troop their colours - on the Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall , before the Queen, the Royal Family and members of the public. The Queen is greeted with Royal salute before inspecting the troops. The Queen then rides back to Buckingham Palace at the head of a musical procession of her Guards, before taking another salute and a fly over from the Royal Air Force.
The most well known royal ceremony is the Changing of the Guard or Guard Mounting, which takes place on the forecourt at Buckingham Palace each day at 11.30 in June and July, though only on dry days. The handover is accompanied by a Guards band playing traditional military marches as the famous bearskin hated soldiers swap places.
But Buckingham Palace isn’t the only place to see the Changing of the Guard. Guard Mounting also takes place each day at Windsor Castle at 11am, Horse Guards Arch on Whitehall, also at 11am and the Tower of London at 11.30am.
One of the oldest Royal ceremonies is the Garter Service for the Order of the Garter. Each year in June this ceremony sees the Queen lead a procession and a service at Windsor Castle accompanied by the members of the Order of the Garter Britain’s most senior order of chivalry, established by Edward III in 1348.
Another famous annual event is the Remembrance Day Parade on November 11th as the Queen marches down Whitehall to place a wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph in honour those that died in service to this country in the two world wars.
Royal ceremonies are memorable occasions for all involved and could give you a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Queen in person!
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