Trooping the colour at horse guards London by the household division
The custom of Trooping the Colour dates back to the time of Charles II in the 17th. Century when the Colours of a regiment were used as a rallying point in battle and were therefore trooped in front of the soldiers every day to make sure that every man could recognise those of his own regiment. In London, the Foot Guards used to do this as part of their daily Guard Mounting on Horse Guards and the ceremonial of the modern Trooping the Colour parade is along similar lines. The first traceable mention of The Sovereign's Birthday being 'kept' by the Grenadier Guards is in 1748 and again, after George III became King in 1760, it was ordered that parades should mark the King's Birthday. From the accesssion of George IV they became, with a few exceptions and notably the two World Wars, an annual event.
Size: 6907px × 4586px
Location: horse guards London
Photo credit: © andrew chittock / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: bearskin, birthday, cavalry, ceremonial, colour, colours, coludsteam, division, foot, gender, guards, hor, horse, household, irish, london, pageantry, parade, queen’, red, scot, trooping, tunic, welsh