Trooping the Colour 2018: how to watch the Queen’s birthday parade

The centuries-old tradition is one of the
most spectacular events of the royal calendar

In Depth

Although born in April, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate
her “second” birthday this Saturday, with an event that is one
of the most elaborate and opulent ceremonies of the royal calendar:
Trooping the Colour.

A large-scale display of pageantry, pomp and circumstance,
Trooping the Colour takes place every year in June and sees the
Queen’s personal troops, the Household Division, marching at Horse Guards Parade in
central London, with the Queen attending and taking the salute.

So how can you get involved?

What is the significance of Trooping the Colour?

In the past, flags, or “colours”, were used as a method of
identification for different regiments of the British Army during
conflicts, as they “made it easy for soldiers to recognise their
units even in the chaos of a battlefield”, says Culture Trip.

“Of course, the soldiers would have to learn which colours
belonged to their regiment, so they were regularly marched and
displayed, or trooped by a young officer,” the travel site
adds.

This has morphed over time into the annual Trooping the Colour
ceremony, which while serving no discernable purpose in modern
warfare, has become associated with the monarch’s official
birthday.

What happens at Trooping the Colour?

In its current form, the event is packed with strictly
choreographed procedures and rituals.

The Queen first travels down The Mall from Buckingham Palace by
carriage, with a Sovereign’s Escort from the Household Cavalry
Mounted Regiment, says the official Changing of the Guard website.

“As the clock on Horse Guards chimes eleven, Her Majesty The
Queen arrives to take the Royal Salute from the officers and men of
the Household Division on parade. After the salute, the Queen
rides up and down the ranks, in her carriage, inspecting the troops
on parade,” the site says.

“After the massed bands have performed a musical ‘troop’, the
Regimental Colour, being trooped, is escorted up and down the ranks
of Guards.”

The Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry then march past the
Queen, while the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, rank past
with their guns, after which the Queen rides in her carriage back
to Buckingham Palace before taking the salute there.

Members of the Royal Family will then join the Queen on the
balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch what many consider the
highlight of the ceremony – a dramatic fly-past by the Royal
Air Force’s Red Arrows at 1pm.

How can I watch the ceremony?

Tickets, priced at £35, usually go on sale early in the year via
a ballot system and sell out quickly, and 2018 is no different.
This year’s online ballot closed on 1 March, and all the tickets
have been snapped up.

However, those determined to see the ceremony can head down to
The Mall, where you may be able to catch a glimpse of members of
the Royal Family as they go past. Alternatively, camp out at the
edge of St James’s Park to see the troops on Horse Guards Parade.
The Culture Trip recommends arriving at either of those two
locations by 9am at the latest in order to claim a spot.

If you can’t wrangle a decent viewpoint for the ceremony, the
Red Arrows fly-past is visible from across most of central London,
so be sure to look up if you’re in the area.

And if you are not able to go in person, the BBC will be broadcasting the event in full.