The Queen’s official birthday will be marked today by the Trooping the Color. The colorful military ceremony is carried out by troops from the Household Division (Foot Guards and Household Cavalry) on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, watched by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, members of the royal family, invited guests and members of the public.
The event is a popular spectacle in central London and attracts thousands of spectators. A procession of carriages and horses travels from Buckingham Palace up the Mall to Horse Guards Parade. During the ceremony, The Queen is greeted by a Royal salute and carries out an inspection of the troops. After the massed bands have performed a musical “troop”, the escorted regimental color is carried down the ranks. The Color this year will be trooped by 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.
Just before 1 p.m. the Queen and members of the royal family make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, to greet the crowds and watch an RAF fly-past.
The royal procession will leave Buckingham Palace at 10.45 a.m., proceeding down the Mall to Horse Guards Parade.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will ride in a carriage followed on horseback by the Prince of Wales (Colonel, Welsh Guards), the Princess Royal (Gold Stick in Waiting and Colonel, The Blues and Royals) and the Duke of Kent (Colonel, Scots Guards). Also riding in the procession will be the Master of the Horse, the Lord Vestey, and the Colonels of the Irish Guards, the Life Guards and the Coldstream Guards.
The ceremony of Trooping the Color will begin on Horse Guards Parade at 11 a.m.
At the end of the ceremony, the Queen and the procession will return to Buckingham Palace, where she will take the salute from a dais.
The sovereign’s birthday is officially celebrated every June. Although the Queen was born on April 21, it has long been customary to celebrate her birthday publicly on a day in the summer, when better weather is more likely.
The ceremony dates back to the early 18th century or earlier, when the colors (flags) of the battalion were carried (or “trooped”) down the ranks so that they could be seen and recognized by the soldiers. Since 1748, this parade has also marked the sovereign’s official birthday and, since Edward VII’s reign, the sovereign has taken the salute in person. The Queen has taken the salute every year of her reign, except in 1955 when a national rail strike canceled the event.
A list of honors for meritorious service is announced on the sovereign’s official birthday. Since the Queen confers honors on the advice of the prime minister, the list is published by the Prime Minister’s Office and can be viewed on the website of No. 10 Downing Street.
