The British Monarchy Miscellany
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soldier taking a sentry shift. When all soldiers in a battalion have completed their shifts the group hands over sentry duties to another battalion of soldiers come to relieve them, i.e. there is a change in the guards posted at the residence.
The ceremony proper of the Changing of the Guard has its roots in German infantry drills imported into Britain by the Hanoverian kings in the 18th century and first refined during the reign of George II. The ceremony at
Buckingham Palace is the biggest and most elaborate and dates back to the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign. A list of guard mounting and Changings of the Guard in the United Kingdom follows below.
Guard Mounting and Changing of the Guard
Locations in the United Kingdom:
Buckingham Palace, London
Four Foot Guards are posted when the monarch in is
residence, two are posted at any other time. The
Changing of the Guard ceremony used to take place at 11.30am every day between April and July, and on
alternate days the rest of the year, however a new
schedule began to be trialled in 2017 with new times being confirmed two months in advance.
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St James Palace/Clarence House, London
Two Foot Guards used to be posted at the Pall Mall
entrance of St James Palace, and two more at the Mall entrance of Clarence House, however this was
discontinued in 2014-2016 due to security concerns.
Currently two sentries are posted behind gates in Friary Court at St James Palace, while two sentries are posted behind gates in Stable Yard at Clarence House. The
Changing of the Guard ceremony at St James Palace takes place together with the ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
There is a small ceremony for changing the guard at Clarence House.
Horse Guards, Whitehall, London
A horse mounted guard provided by the Household
Cavalry is posted at the entrance of Horse Guards, the official ceremonial entrance to the Royal Palaces, and is called the Queen’s Life Guard. Mounted sentries and dismounted sentries are posted between 10am and 8pm.
The Changing of the Guard ceremony is normally held every morning on the adjacent Horse Guards Parade.
The Tower of London
Two Foot Guards are posted at the Tower because it is still an official royal residence and the location of the Crown Jewels. One sentry is posted at the entry of the Jewel House, another before the Queen’s House on
Tower Green. There is no Changing of the Guard
ceremony proper, however a simple opening and posting 466
of the guards routine is performed every day before the Tower is open to visitors.
Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Foot Guards are mounted inside the Castle precincts. A ceremonial Changing of the Guard inside the Castle used to take place Monday to Saturday from April to July, and on alternate days the rest of the year, however a new schedule is being trialled in 2017 with new times being confirmed two months in advance. The ceremony starts with the soldiers marching from their barracks through Windsor town centre to the Castle.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Sentries are posted before the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle when the monarch is in residence during Holyrood week, and when other members of the Royal Family are on official visits to Scotland. Changing of the Guard times vary.
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Royal Gun Salutes
The practice of using gun salutes to honour royalty and other important dignitaries originated in the 18th century, and is said to have first begun in the British Royal Navy.
The standard 21-gun salute began to be adopted
internationally in the 19th century. Today, gun salutes in the United Kingdom are fired on major state occasions like the State Opening of Parliament and official state visits, and on major yearly royal anniversaries. They can also be fired to celebrate royal weddings, jubilee
celebrations, and the birth of heirs to the throne. As of May 2018, scheduled Royal Gun Salutes are fired on the following dates in the United Kingdom:
6 February
The Queen’s Accession Anniversary
21 April
The Queen's Birthday (actual)
2 June
The Queen’s Coronation Anniversary
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10 June
The Duke of Edinburgh's Birthday
Mid-June (Saturday)
Trooping the Colour, The Queen's Birthday (official) 14 November
The Prince of Wales's Birthday
Note: Gun salutes never take place on Sundays, so if any of the fixed dates above falls on a Sunday the gun salutes occur on the following day.
In London, gun salutes are fired twice on the royal occasions listed above, once in one of the Royal Parks (either Green Park or Hyde Park) and once from the gun wharf of the Tower of London. In Hyde Park and Green Park an extra 20 rounds are added to the basic 21-gun salute because they are Royal Parks, bringing the total Royal Gun Salute to 42 rounds. At the Tower of London, 20 rounds are added because the Tower is a royal
fortress, and a further 21 rounds are added to honour the City of London, bringing the total Royal Gun salute there to 62 rounds. Gun salutes take place first in the Royal Parks at 12 noon (11am on the Queen’s Official Birthday), and then at 1.00pm at the Tower of London. The salutes in the Royal Parks are usually fired by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery; the ones at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.
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Gun Salutes can also be fired at any authorized military saluting stations in the UK including Windsor, Edinburgh, Cardiff, York, Plymouth, Dover, Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland, and many other places. A decision to fire a Royal Gun Salute across the UK is usually taken by the local government authority or military station.
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Some Royal
Ceremonies and Events
Throughout the Year
Royal ceremonies and events have become part of the social and cultural life of the United Kingdom. Listed on the following pages are the most significant ceremonies and events in the yearly calendar, divided in two
categories. Ceremonies and events Attended by the
Royal Family require the presence of the monarch or a senior member of the Royal Family in order to take place.
Ceremonies and events Not Usually Attended by the
Royal Family commemorate specific royal events or maintain royal traditions, but do not require the presence of the monarch or a member of the Royal Family to take place (though Royal Family members may attend from
time to time).
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Attended by the Royal Family
Royal Maundy Service
Thursday before Easter
Rooted in an ancient Christian ceremony, the Royal
Maundy religious service is held on the Thursday before Easter, the day commemorating the Last Supper and
Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet. From medieval times until the late 17th century kings and queens regnant imitated Jesus’ actions by washing the feet of a chosen group of poor people in public. Starting in the 18th century however monarchs began instead to give money to people in charitable need during religious ceremonies.
Today the act has become purely ceremonial. The
monarch hands out a small bag of commemorative coins to a group of recipients that has been chosen by the diocese where the ceremony takes place, based on their service to the community. Queen Elizabeth II has
established the practice during her reign of holding the ceremony at a different church or cathedral in the UK
every year, and she has herself performed the ceremony at every Anglican cathedral in England. The Maundy coins handed out are struck specifically for the occasion, and recipients receive them based on the age of the monarch: i.e., during the Maundy service held on the year Elizabeth II was 80 years old, she handed out a bag containing 80
/>
pence worth of commemorative coins to 80 men and 80
women.
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State Opening of Parliament
May/June
In the most visible display of the monarchy’s
constitutional functions, every year the monarch opens the new session of Parliament by travelling in state from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster and
giving a speech in the House of Lords before the
assembled Houses of Lords and Commons. The origins of the event go back to medieval times and rituals
associated with it have been refined and added over the centuries, most recently by Edward VII between 1901 and 1910, and by Elizabeth II during her reign. The event was traditionally held in November/December until 2012
when it was moved to May/June.
Trooping the colour/The Monarch’s Birthday
Parade
Second/Third Sunday in June
The biggest royal celebration in the calendar year is the Trooping the Colour ceremony, a military parade that has been held to celebrate the monarch’s birthday since 1748. Originally held on the actual birthday of the sovereign, since the reign of Edward VII—who was born in November—the ceremony has been held in June to
take advantage of good weather. The monarch travels from Buckingham Palace between crowds assembled in
The Mall to Horse Guards Parade where the main military exercise is held, and where he/she reviews the troops 473
and receives royal salutes. Afterwards the monarch
usually holds another review in front of Buckingham Palace, then joins the rest of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony to greet the crowds and
watch a Royal Air Force fly-past.
Garter Day
Third week of June
On the Monday of Ascot week (see below), the monarch holds a luncheon at Windsor Castle for the knights of the Order of the Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in the world founded at Windsor in 1348 (see British Honours and Decorations). Afterwards the knights and the monarch—everyone dressed in ceremonial robes and
plumed hats—walk in procession among crowds gathered in the Windsor Castle courtyard to St George’s Chapel, where they take part in the annual Order of the Garter service. Although dating back to medieval times, the present ceremonies were only revived by George VI in 1948 after they had fallen into disuse in the 18th century.
Similar religious services for other chivalric orders attended by the monarch are held for the Order of the Thistle in Edinburgh; for the order of the Bath in
Westminster Abbey, London; and for the Order of the British Empire at St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
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Royal Ascot
Third week of June
Ever since Queen Anne founded Ascot racecourse in 1711
the Royal Family has been involved in its most famous event, the five-day Royal Ascot meeting during the third week of June. On each of the five days the Royal Family opens the races by parading on the race track in horse-drawn carriages, a tradition started by George IV in the 1820s. They also present awards to some of the race winners. The Royal Family spend their time at Ascot in the Royal Enclosure, where a strict dress code is
enforced, and admission is by sponsorship from existing members only.
Garden Parties
May-July
Garden parties were instituted by Queen Victoria in the 1860s and since then they have evolved into an informal event where people who have contributed to their
community or the nation can meet the monarch and
other members of the Royal Family. Guests lists are usually submitted to the palace by charities and other organisations, both national and local, ensuring that guests come from a wide spectrum. At least three garden parties are held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace each year, and one in the gardens of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, with an estimated combined total of 30,000
people attending the events. Held in the afternoon, the 475
monarch and other members of the Royal Family arrive at 4pm and meet guests until 6pm, the national anthem
playing as they arrive and when they leave. Special Garden Parties are also held to celebrate special
anniversaries or charity causes.
Remembrance Day
Second Sunday in November
The Royal Family leads national commemorations on
Remembrance Day, on the second Sunday in November,
when all soldiers fallen since World War I are
remembered. The main ceremony is held at the Cenotaph in London where the Royal Family is joined by politicians, the military, religious representatives and hundreds of veterans. The ceremony starts with a two minute silence after which the monarch lays a wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph, followed by other senior Royals doing likewise.
The Royal Family also attends other related events in the same week including the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Diplomatic Reception
November/December
The biggest reception held at Buckingham Palace every year, this event is the highlight of the diplomatic calendar in Britain and is attended by over 1,500 people
representing over 130 countries. During the event the 476
monarch and other senior members of the Royal Family are formally presented to ambassadors and dignitaries in order of diplomatic precedence whilst moving through the state room of Buckingham Palace. Members of the Royal Family are expected to dress in their most formal evening wear, with the women wearing regalia, but
because of the sensitive nature of diplomatic protocol no pictures or film are ever taken of the actual event.
Royal Variety Performance
November/December
George V instituted the first Royal Command
Performance in 1912, held as a fundraiser for the Variety Artists Benevolent Fund, and the yearly charity event still continues to be held today. The performance usually takes place at the beginning of the Christmas season, either in London or selected theatres across the country, and is always attended either by the monarch or a senior royal. The choice of acts performing before the Royal Family is meant to reflect the wide spectrum of
entertainment popular at the time, and past acts have included the Beatles, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. The show is aired on British television as well as many other Commonwealth Countries and claims an audience of over 150 million viewers every year.
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Not Usually Attended by the Royal Family
Commemoration of the Execution of Charles I
Last Sunday in January
Royalist members of the English Civil War Society,
dressed in period costumes, commemorate the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 by marching from St James’ Palace to Whitehall and holding an open-air
service and review in Horse Guards Parade. A wreath is usually laid by the statue of Charles I in Trafalgar Square, or by the Banqueting House near the place where Charles was beheaded. The anniversary of Charles’ death was observed in the Church of England on 30 January until 1859 as the Feast of St Charles the Martyr.
Ceremony of the Lilies and the Roses
21 May
Every year since 1923 students from Eton College in Windsor and King’s College in Cambridge—both founded by Henry VI—gather on the anniversary of Henry’s death at the Wakefield Tower in the Tower of London where he was murdered while praying in 1471. During a small
ceremony at sundown the students lay separate flowers on the spot where Henry is said to have died: lilies are laid by Eton students and roses by King’s College
students. The ceremony is private and not opened to the public.
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Oak Apple Day
29 May
A public holiday from 1660 until 1859, Oak Apple Day celebrated the restoration of the monarchy on 29 May 1660 with the accession of Charles II, after the monarchy
had been previously abolished by the Republican
Commonwealth in 1649. It took its name from an episode in the life of Charles II when he was defeated at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 and evaded capture by hiding in the trunk of an oak tree. The date was also significant as 29 May was Charles’ own birthday. Oak Apple Day is still celebrated today at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, founded by Charles II in 1681, where it is called Founder’s Day. A statue of Charles II in the courtyard of the hospital is garlanded with oak leaves for the occasion, and a member of the Royal Family sometimes visits on the day to meet former soldiers living on hospital
grounds.
Swan Upping
July
By tradition, swans in English waters are owned by the monarch, though he or she can grant licenses for
ownership to others. On the river Thames swans
ownership is divided between the monarch and two City of London Livery companies: the Vintners Company and the Dyers Company. Every year in the third week of July a boating party of Swan Uppers, dressed in ceremonial 479