Due to Coronavirus and lockdown, 2020 saw a very different Trooping the Colour ceremony to mark the Queen’s official birthday. Trooping the Colour is an annual event that normally takes place in London, at Horse Guards Parade. It involves a regiment (with each regiment taking it in turns each year) trooping their colour (flag) in front of Her Majesty the Queen, and the royal family, as part of a wider parade with music from the Massed Bands of the Household Division.
The participants and royal family travel from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade down the Mall, where the public line the street, and then back again. The public can also pay to watch the actual ceremony at Horse Guards. Her Majesty takes a salute, before everyone parades back down the Mall to the Palace. The royal family (en masse, as it is one of the few occasions that see’s the extended royal family all together, as well as the senior members) appear on the balcony for a flypast by the RAF. You can read about the usual Trooping the Colour ceremony and its history elsewhere on this blog, when we have covered the event in the past. Trooping the Colour as it usually is held has only been cancelled once before during the Queen’s reign.
This year, things were very different. But I for one am so pleased that an event still took place. It shows our ability to carry on and adapt, and events like these that are part of the fabric of the nation and the national calendar, by still taking place, give us an anchor. The royal family I believe are a huge part of the anchorage of the country. Usually the regiments practice for months beforehand to achieve their famous precision and accuracy. This year they only had a few weeks to change the parade to a scaled down version involving less participants, no horses, and a diminished version of the Massed Bands of the Household Cavalry.
The parade was changed to take place at Windsor Castle, where the Queen is currently residing, and had to be performed on grass instead of hard ground. I think this showed excellent adaptability, especially as they reworked the parade to ensure that a 2 metres distance was maintained at all times. They used the garrison sergeant major’s pace stick to measure 3 paces between the soldiers, which is the equivalent of 2.2 metres, instead of the usual smaller distance. The sovereign's birthday parade has not been staged at Windsor since 1895, when a ceremony was held in honour of Queen Victoria, for her 72nd birthday. Queen Victoria remained in her carriage for the event as she was not able to walk well, but the Queen walked unaided and stood for the salute and National Anthem that was played at the start and end of the ceremony.
This adaptability has also been put to good use, as the armed forces have worked alongside the NHS to build hospitals, put up extra wards and beds in existing hospitals, and help carry out testing to NHS staff, the vulnerable, and wider public. Armed forces medical staff have also been redeployed to help fight Covid. The armed forces have enthusiastically and efficiently, and also fairly quietly without fuss, adapted to help where it is needed. I am proud of them, and I am sure the Queen is too, as Head of the Armed Forces. Their contribution to the effort to defeat Covid, has, I believe, made the Trooping the Colour parade all the more significant and special. It has been a chance for the Welsh Guards who trooped their colour this year, to represent the wider armed forces and do what they do best, show off their skill, and show that they are there to keep the nation going, and protect and defend us no matter what the foe is, be it an enemy or disease.
The Queen attended the parade, and walked to a covered stage with a seat from which she watched. There was no carriage procession or balcony appearance and flypast, giving the ceremony a more intimate feel that really focused on the monarch and her amazing achievements as Queen, as her 94th birthday was celebrated. It focused on her strength and role as Head of State, as she has continued to support and encourage the nation through this difficult time. I found it strange but somehow in a way fitting, that the Queen was alone, with no other members of her family present. It changes it from a big family occasion where all come out to celebrate, to a real testament to the Queen and all that she does for the country, and her extraordinary ability to carry out her role, an ability that I believe stems from her faith in God.
The Queen was accompanied by senior members of the armed forces who kept their 2 metre distance. Usually the rest of the royal family watch with her, and this year it would have been a significant parade for the Prince of Wales, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards. The Queen wore a light blue dress coat and hat, with her patent black shoes and handbag that are her trademark look. She also wore a brooch that had the leeks of the Welsh Guards on it. Her Majesty was seen smiling at the end of the parade, and laughing and talking to those around her. She clearly enjoyed the parade and was pleased that it could go ahead; it was a piece of normality for her!
Overall, it was another successful Trooping the Colour, and one that will go down in history. How fitting, that this year marked 200 years of the ceremony, and that it should still go ahead, despite restrictions. Happy Birthday Your Majesty!