Trooping the Colour: History, Significance, and Traditions of the Military Ceremony

Trooping the Colour is a traditional military ceremony celebrated in Britain every year to mark the monarch’s official birthday toward the beginning of June. A special Trooping the Colour ceremony has been intended to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, denoting her historic 70-year reign on Thursday, June 2.

However, what truly occurs at Trooping the Colour? For what reason do the Brits make it happen and what’s the significance here?

While is Trooping the Colour 2022?

Trooping the Colour will occur on Thursday 2 June, beginning at 10 am. It will complete at around 12.25 pm.

Starting at Buckingham Palace, the parade will move down the Mall to Horse Guards Parade, joined by individuals from the Royal Family riding a horse and in carriages.

The Parade will close with the traditional RAF going by, watched by the Queen and members of the Royal Family from the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

More than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians will meet up for the event, and individuals will actually want to look for free from the roads.

It will likewise be broadcast live on BBC One.

Trooping the Colour History

Trooping the Colour is a military parade that includes the seven army regiments that serve the queen gathered under the umbrella of “The Household Division.”

The ceremony sees the colour (the name for a regimental flag) paraded before collected troops, managed by the monarch.

The ceremony is said to be founded on an old Roman military practice in which the regimental standard was marched before troopers who might then have the option to recognize it on the battlefield.

In Britain, the adoption of the ceremony is remembered to date back to the 17th century, with it being officially kept as an annual tradition denoting the sovereign’s birthday in the reign of George IV (1762-1830).

It was King George II (1683-1760) who initially began the tradition of the king having two birthday celebrations and this was because his real birthday was in November. Thinking that his British subjects wouldn’t generally need to have a parade or celebrations at that time of year, George held an official birthday parade during the summer.

Progressive rulers had the option to keep this tradition and the “official” summer royal birthday celebrations were normalized by King Edward VII (1841-1910).

Trooping the Colour Significance

The significance of Trooping the Colour today is mainly ceremonial, yet it’s a significant part of military history and still serves a need as far as giving a potential chance to troops to practice drills and to help out different regiments.

The ceremony has additionally become a significant event at which the queen should be visible in her ability as head of the military and where she can audit the soldiers who play out their duties in her name.

Trooping the Colour Traditions

There are numerous traditions related to Trooping the Colour, the first and foremost being that it is finished within the sight of the sovereign or a senior member of the royal family if the person is debilitated or out of the country.

The ceremony is held every year in Horse Guards Parade, which remains at the eastern end of St James’ Park, a short distance down The Mall from Buckingham Palace. The parade ground denotes the official entrance to the court of St. James, which is the official title given to the British royal court. In this way, when the sovereign travels to Westminster Abbey she uses Horse Guards Parade as a cut through and it was the route taken by the funeral parade for Princess Diana in 1997.

For Trooping the Colour, grandstands are set up around the parameter of the parade ground, and sand is put down to stop the horses and gun carriages from slipping on the hard surface as they enter.