Trooping the Colour Saturday Published June 12, 2008 By the Team Mildenhall Community Relations Adviser's Office 100th Air Refueling Group RAF MILDENHALL, England -- One of England's most spectacular events, Trooping the Colour, will take place in London Saturday, June 14. Trooping the Colour is the biggest royal event of the year, and although The Queen was born on April 21, it has long been the tradition to celebrate the Sovereign's birthday publicly on a day in the summer, when it would be reasonable to expect fine weather. This custom of honoring the Sovereign's Birthday was introduced in 1805, though, due to the illness of King George III, it was suspended from 1811-1820. The ceremony was restored on the accession of King George IV and has, thankfully, thrived ever since. The 'colour' referred to in the name of the parade is the flag of one of the British Army regiments. In medieval times, when a great deal of fighting went on, battles were fought between soldiers who had no specific uniform and wore either their ordinary clothes or armor. Battles were frequently lost because soldiers were unable to distinguish between members of their own forces, and those of the enemy. They were rarely able to recognise their own leaders, and identification symbols were clearly needed to overcome the problem. The symbols varied. A commander might devise some insignia that had significance for his own men, perhaps his own family crest. That would be embroidered on his coat and on his horse's covering. He would also have a specific password or rallying cry, and a pennant bearing his particular symbol, which would be held high and carried close to him in the heat of battle. Although this had the disadvantage of targeting him for the enemy troops, it did provide a rallying point for his men. In time, the flag became known as the regiment's 'colour'. It became common practice to carry the colours past the assembled ranks at the end of each day's march, and for the soldiers to escort them to the billet in which they were to be lodged for the night. In the morning, the men would solemnly accompany the colours to the point at which they formed ranks again. As a result of these ceremonies, the colours gradually came to represent the spirit of the regiment, and special respect was paid to them. Each regiment now has its own colour, made of heavy, costly, hand-embroidered silk When they become worn after about fifteen years of active service, they're never destroyed, but 'laid up', and preserved with great honour. Soldiers these days are well aware who their commanders are, and what their company colours look like, but each year the colours of one of the regiments is trooped, or paraded, in memory of those times. The ceremony involves more than 1,400 soldiers, about 200 horses, and 400 musicians. Queen Elizabeth ΙΙ rides in a carriage, accompanied by the sovereign's escort of the Household Cavalry. The procession leaves Buckingham Palace at 10:40 a.m. and moves down the Mall to Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, arriving exactly as Big Ben strikes 11 a.m.. The colour of only one regiment is trooped each year, and this year it's the turn of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. All five regiments of Foot Guards are drawn up on the parade ground. As Queen Elizabeth reaches the saluting base, the British national anthem is played, and a gun salute is fired in nearby Hyde Park. She then inspects the assembled military, returning to Buckingham Palace, via the Mall, at 12:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., she appears on the balcony with other members of her family to watch a Royal Air Force fly-by. As you can imagine, the ceremony is popular with both the British and visiting tourists, and although tickets are scarce and have to be applied for in January, you can get a good view from St. James's Park or along the Mall. If you want to watch the procession in person you'll need to be in place very early. Alternatively you can watch from the comfort of your own home as the precession is televised. The nearest underground (tube) station is Westminster, on Circle (yellow), District (green) and Jubilee (silver) lines. If you're in central London on any other business Saturday, be prepared for delays and detours. Compiled for the Marauder Online by Vicky Stayton, Team Mildenhall Community Relations Adviser