The Trooping color comes from the practical tradition practiced on the battlefields. The colors were flags that served as a gathering point for soldiers during battles.
The term “troop” means slowly bringing the color among all the soldiers so that each of them can identify the flag of his own regiment.
Today it is considered Britain’s largest military ceremony, organized in honor of the Queen by the Household Division.
Which regiment will carry the flag in 2026?
The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will be chosen to display its flag in the 2026 parade. The year will also see the completion of 370 years of this regiment.
The colonel of the Grenadier Guards is Queen Camilla. The slow march of the regiment is Handel’s “Scipio’s March”, while the fast march is “The British Grenadiers”.
How many participants are involved?
- More than 1,400 officers and soldiers
- Around 200 horses
- More than 400 musicians from around ten groups and drum corps
What happens during the ceremony?
Bands move into position to perform an elaborate maneuver called a “spinning wheel” that has no written instructions in any exercise manual and must be adapted to the situation by each musician.
The monarch travels from Buckingham Palace along the Mall, this year by coach (after traveling on horseback in 2023 and by coach from 2025).
Arriving at Horse Guards Parade, he received the salute of his troops and inspected them. Massive marching bands play and are then followed by the colored flag troop of the Grenadier Guards among the Foot Guards.
The foot guards then march before His Majesty at a slow and rapid pace, followed by the passage of the king’s troops, the royal horse artillery and the sovereign’s escort of the household cavalry, at a walk and a trot.
The King then returns to Buckingham Palace at the head of his guards, giving his final salute before joining members of the Royal Family on the balcony for a Royal Air Force flypast.
The BBC is live streaming the UK’s King’s Birthday Parade, with commentary reaching millions of viewers around the world.
