TROOPING the Colour celebrates the Queen’s official birthday TODAY and is a huge attraction that draws crowds to Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II has never missed the occasion. Read on to find out if you need a ticket to watch it. When is Trooping the Colour 2019? Trooping the Colour is traditionally held on the […]
TROOPING the Colour celebrates the Queen’s official birthday TODAY and is a huge attraction that draws crowds to Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II has never missed the occasion. Read on to find out if you need a ticket to watch it.
Trooping the Colour is traditionally held on the second Saturday of June.
Therefore the event in 2019 will take place on June 8.
The same routine is performed each year.
At around 9.15am, Household Guards begin to form, but the Queen doesn’t leave Buckingham Palace until around 10.45am.
She travels from the Palace, down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade by St James’ Park.
She then takes a Royal salute from officers and inspects the troops before the Regimental Colour (flag) is carried down the ranks.
After Foot Guards, the Household Cavalry, The King’s Troop and Royal Horse Artillery troop past, the Queen heads back to Buckingham Palace to the balcony for the Royal Air Force fly-past.
Trooping the Colour is an annual event that dates back to Charles II in the 17th century when regiment colours were trooped in front of soldiers so they could recognise their unit in battle.
The Queen has taken the salute every year since her coronation in 1953, apart from 1955 when it was cancelled due to a national rail strike.
The royal occasion is also known as The Queen’s Birthday Parade.
The day kicks off with an impressive pageantry parade which includes her personal troops, the Household Division and Horse Guards.
Usually the Queen rides in a carriage before inspecting the troops and taking a salute from the officers and men on parade.
The Queen traditionally has two birthdays, her actual birthday on April 21 and an official birthday marked every summer by the Trooping the Colour ceremony.
Members of the public are advised to stand on The Mall or on the edge of St James’ Park which overlooks Horse Guards.
The parade will be broadcast live on the BBC.
The fly-past will take place at 1pm.
Tickets for Trooping the Colour, priced from £5 to £40, are no longer available for this year’s event.
The dress code is morning or lounge dress, but strictly no denim.
