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Queen’s BirthdayBy Kenneth KavanaghChildren have an innate sense of justice, which is why some of my young friends thought it grossly unfair that Elizabeth Windsor celebrates two birthdays every year. What made matters worse was that Elizabeth seemed in no need of the further gifts or cake that double celebrations surely brought. In fact Elizabeth, usually known in Britain as The Queen, flaunts her second birthday with an impressive outdoor celebration, to the delight of London’s June visitors. This is not, as many 8-year-olds suspect, a sinister royal ploy to double the number of her gifts: it is simple British pragmatism. Like her subjects, Queen Elizabeth II has a real birthday, on April 21. But with the unreliable London weather, April is not the best of months for Brits to hold parades to honor their monarch, so they decided to move the celebrations to, slightly more reliable, June.
It was June when we visited London. At 7am we trudged along the Mall, a flag-lined boulevard that sweeps regally from Trafalgar Square to the Queen’s official London residence in the city centre, Buckingham Palace. We were not alone: thousands of people clutching umbrellas, collapsible seats and soggy breakfasts wrapped in polythene bags were chattering excitedly all around us. Beside us a street vendor was doing a roaring trade in mini paper flags, but was finding it more difficult to sell the balloons printed with pictures of Prince Charles. It seemed that even although the party did not kick off until 11am, we were late: some people had waited all night for their ideal vantage point. But we found plenty of good viewing points in St James’s Park, an immaculate green oasis stretching from the palace up the side of the Mall.
The British capital seemed reinvigorated this early summer morning. The sun streamed through the fresh-leafed horse chestnuts and beeches and above the sergeant’s bawling, birds twittered in the park. We watched and waited. An air of excitement rippled through the growing crowd as motorcades ferried prime ministers and dignitaries to their seats. Hundreds of guardsmen clad in scarlet uniforms and tall, black furry bearskin hats marched like toy soldiers in perfect formation to the stirring music of massed military bands. Mounted drummers in gilded uniforms trotted past, regimental farriers bearing glinting silver axes added to the pageantry and the hooves of scores of police and cavalry horses clattered rhythmically on the street. It was easy to see why this is one of the most popular of British ceremonial occasions.
A wave of excitement rippled through the crowd. At the instant the clock struck eleven the suspense was broken by the trumpets of heralds, the guards jumped to attention and an open horse-drawn carriage pulled majestically into the parade ground, a diminutive lady in a flowery dress seated in the back with a blanket on her lap. She waved unemotionally. After more than half a century on the throne, Queen Elizabeth is an old hand at reviewing the troops. She stepped up onto a little platform at the middle of the ground and watched as the soldiers filed past her quickly, then slowly, then quickly again. Within an hour the event was over and the impassive Queen headed back home to witness a military fly-past zoom over the Mall and listen to the 21-gun salutes that echoed through the city. Wandering down the Mall a little later through discarded streamers and banners, we decided that the Queen could be forgiven for her two celebrations. There is no other party quite like this and best of all, you do not even have to bring along a gift for the birthday girl – but just don’t expect any cake. Travel tipsThe Queen’s Birthday Parade of Trooping the Color takes place on the second Saturday of June each year at 11am on Horse Guard’s Parade, central London. The nearest Underground stations are: Westminster, Charing Cross and Embankment. The following bus routes stop on Whitehall for Horse Guard’s Parade 3,11,12,24,53,77A,88,159,and 453 For the timetable of other ceremonial events in and around London, including the State Opening of Parliament, the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace and Remembrance Sunday, check the UK’s Ministry of Defence website at: http://www.army.mod.uk/ceremonial/ceremonialandheritage/ceremonial_events.htm For details of the opening times and ticket prices of royal palaces and castles open to the public visit: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page594.asp Picture Credit: VisitBritain |
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This makes the second Saturday in
June ideal for anyone interested in seeing some UK pomp or capturing
quintessential, if not quaint, Britain on film. But if you can’t visit
London in June, the Queen and her troops supply tourists with a number of
other photo opportunities throughout the year, including the State Opening
of Parliament, usually held in November, one of the few times you are likely
to catch the Queen wearing her crown. And there is always the opportunity to
visit one of the Queen’s official residences, including, during the summer
months when the royal family heads to Scotland, Buckingham Palace.
Shepherded by white-shirted
policemen and weaving through the masses, we pressed on towards Horse
Guard’s Parade. This was where the action was to take place, and as we
approached the unintelligible barking of an army sergeant intensified. More
than 2,000 shiny black boots crunched satisfyingly as soldiers mustered on
the graveled parade ground.
The centerpiece of the festivities
is Trooping of the Color, a military event dating back more than 250 years.
Then a regiment’s flag (colors) was used as a battlefield rallying point for
the redcoats. Before engaging the enemy, the colors were solemnly paraded
through the ranks of troops so each soldier would be able to recognize them
in the dust and smoke of battle – an activity that became known as trooping.
Now the practice is ceremonial and on her official birthday the 78-year-old
sovereign presides over the colorful event cheered on by tens of thousands
of her subjects and watched on television by millions more.