Changing the Guard - London

Anybody interested in seeing a little bit of British military ceremonial during a visit to London should go along to Horse Guards Parade as every morning at 11am(Sun 10am) there is a changing of the guard by the Queens Life Guard from the Household Cavalry.

The only access to Buckingham Palace up until 1841 was through Horse Guards Parade and that’s why there’s still a daily ceremony taking place here and why you’ll see dismounted cavalry in sentry boxes on Whitehall. Two sentries will be there till 8pm and one till 7am and once the gates are closed no one can go through without saying the password (it’s bada-bing). There are also mounted sentries on duty between 10am-4pm every day and they change every hour.

The daily changing of the guard ceremony takes place on the parade ground when the new guard arrives from Hyde Park barracks and forms up on the south side of Horse Guards and the old guard will form north side. If the Queen is in residence in London the arriving new guard will be carrying Royal Standards and trumpeter’s from both guards will sound the Royal Salute, if she’s not at Buckingham Palace this won’t happen.

Horse Guards Parade is the large open parade ground which has the Old Admiralty buildings on its north side, the Guards building and Banqueting House on its east and the Treasury building on the south side.
Each June it holds probabaly the biggest ceremonial of the year in Britain, the Trooping the Colour ceremony for the Queen’s official birthday(she’s actually born in April). Massed ranks of cavalry, infantry and military bands, all in their finest dress uniforms parade in front of the Queen.

Temporary seating stands are erected for viewing Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade. These are all ticket and the tickets are issued by ballot in March. If you want to enter the ballot you should apply in January or February to Brigade Major, HQ Household Division, Horse Guards, Whitehall, London SW1A 2AX.
If you don’t get a ticket you can still see the procession going from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards along the Mall.

Horse Guards Parade is also where the beach volleyball competition is going to be held during the 2012 London Olympics, they’ll have seating for 15,000 installed.

Nearest tube stations are Charing Cross or Westminster, either enter Horse Guards from Whitehall or the St James’s Park side along Horse Guards Road.