With the coronation of Charles the Third today, I was reminded of my stay in London in the summer of 1983.
It was at this time that Trooping the Color took place.
Trooping the Color is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Color has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, and since 1748 has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign, although its roots go back much earlier.
Each year, one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the Household Division is selected to troop (carry) its colors through the ranks of guards. The colors were once used on the battlefield as a rallying point. During the ceremony, the monarch travels down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in a royal procession with a sovereign’s escort of Household Cavalry (mounted troops or horse guards). After receiving a royal salute, the monarch inspects his troops of the Household Division and the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.
In the United Kingdom, Trooping the Color is also known as the King’s Birthday Parade. First performed during the reign of King Charles II (1660–1685), in 1748 it was decided that the parade of Trooping the Color should mark the official birthday of the Sovereign. In 1760, after the accession of King George III, it became an annual event.
Queen Elizabeth II attended Trooping the Color in every year of her reign, except in 1955 when the event was canceled due to a national rail strike. Riding her Burmese mare between 1969 and 1986, the Queen rode in a carriage from 1987 onwards. In her years attending on horseback, the Queen, as Colonel-in-Chief, wore a biretta and a Guards Regiment uniform with the medals she was awarded before becoming Queen.
The night before the event, my hosts tell me about this matter. And of course, I decide that I must be present.
So that Saturday morning I took the tube from North Finchley on the Northern Line to the centre. A huge crowd in the center. The Mall besieged from all sides. Somehow I manage to make it to the front lines. I was obviously quite seriously looking with my camera and the large lens on it. While I’m looking for good motives, Queen Elizabeth rides by on horseback. The Queen Mother and Princess Diana in a carriage. I’m obsessively pressing the shutter button on my camera. When I want to retreat into the background, satisfied, I notice that the crowd is moving in the direction of Buckingham Palace. So I’m going too. Despite all the crowd, I manage to get to the very entrance of the palace. I stop next to a pillar that obstructs my view of the balcony. I nonchalantly step over the safety line, bobby looks at me, on my camera and gives a slight nod. And here in front of me on the balcony of the palace the complete royal family.
From left to right Queen Mother, Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, Princess Royal Anne, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and some others I dont know who…
When I explain to my friends in the evening how I spent the day, they look at me in disbelief. And they explain to me that people occupy the best positions along the Mall days before. And bobbies don’t take kindly to intruders with cameras either.
And btw, did you know that a nickname for a British policeman, bobby, is after Sir Robert (Bobby) Peel, who founded Britain’s Metropolitan Police Force in 1829. And that the first two bobbies—William Atkinson and William Alcock, holders of Warrants Number one and two—were fired on the first and second day of the force’s existence for being drunk.
And so we too ended up having a late night at the local pub. A pint of ale or two. And when the eleventh hour came, the owner announced the last round. And at fifteen past eleven, it was really the last round. And if it’s the last round, let’s quickly have another ale. And one whiskey.
And then Frenk and I staggered towards home, arms around each other’s shoulders and singing Slovenian national songs. Neighbors? Nothing.