Trooping the Colour

June 5, 2019

• Topical

Our intern Katie Farquhar has written about the wonderful Trooping the Colour tradition. 

Trooping the Colour, often also known as ‘The Queen’s Birthday Parade’, is a colourful spectacle that takes place in June each year on the Horse Guards Parade in London to mark the Queen’s official birthday. Bizarrely, despite Her Majesty The Queen’s ‘official birthday’ being in June, her real birthday is on the 21st of April. Trooping the Colour will be on the 8th June this year. 

Historically, the term “colours” was used to describe the British Army’s regimental flags as they depicted the uniform Colours for different ranking soldiers. These Colours provided battlefields with a sort of rallying point as it was conflict often led to disorientation and separation of soldiers. In order for past soldiers to know what their regimental colours were, a young officer was needed to march amongst them holding the Colours up high. This parading of the Colours amongst the troops came to be known as ‘trooping’ and this is where the term ‘Trooping the Colour’ originates from.

The ceremony starts off with the Queen travelling down The Mall from Buckingham Palace by carriage and as the clock on Horse Guards strikes eleven, she arrives to take the Royal Salute from the men of the Household Division and officers in the parade. She continues to inspect the troops from her carriage and a large collection of bands perform before her. Her Majesty is then passed by the Foot Guards, the Household Cavalry, the Royal Horse Artillery and the King’s Troop. The Queen then returns to Buckingham Palace in her carriage before finally gathering with other members of the Royal Family on the balcony at 1pm to watch a fly-past performed by the Royal Air Force.

So where can you view this famous tradition taking place? This year, Trooping the Colour takes place on June 8th and the best place to watch it from is along the parade route that extends from Buckingham Place along the Mall to Horse Guards Parade. Tickets can be bought online for a place in the seated stands around Horse Guards Parade at the price of £40 – although it should be noted that these are allocated by ballot and only 4 tickets maximum can be purchased. Those not fortunate enough to acquire a ticket can choose to stand and watch from the side lines either along The Mall or by St James’s Park. The procession will also be broadcast live on the BBC from approximately 10am.

Due to the formal nature of this ceremony, those attending are required to dress as such. This means a lounge suit or jacket, morning dress, tie and trousers for men, and the equivalent for women. Centuries-old traditions like Trooping the Colour can seem somewhat silly with their specific dress codes and customs, but they also provide us with the enjoyable opportunity to come together and celebrate our own history and culture.