Trooping the Colour

We were lucky enough to be able to view the procession to and from Horse Guards Parade from the terrace of the Royal Society which overlooks The Mall. Unfortunately there is a row of trees that partially obscures the view nevertheless you can hear the music and catch a glimpse of the pageantry as they turn off The Mall and more so as they head back down The Mall.

Notes below in italics are from Trooping-the-colour 

First sight was of one of the Regimental Bands..

They were then followed by the Foot Guard companies - The Welsh Guards - the No 1 Guard (No.1 Guard is referred to as the 'Escort for the Colour' until it has collected the Colour to be trooped, whereupon it is known as the 'Escort to the Colour'.) plus the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream guards, Scots Guards and Irish Guards. (They will form an extended L-Shape around the perimeter of the square. This echoes the defensive formation known as 'The Hollow Square' that, in battle, would have stood to protect the precious Colour.) 

A few important guests who were only identifiable from the size of their hats.

Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, drive down The Mall in Queen Victoria's 1842 ivory-mounted phaeton drawn by a pair of matched Windsor Grey horsesThe Postillion is dressed in full State Postillion Livery. 

Behind  The Queen on horseback came The Princess Royal, The Prince Of Wales and the Duke Of Cambridge.

The Sovereign's Escort, consisting of the mounted troops of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the Mounted Bands, accompanied Her Majesty.

We were able to watch the ceremony from a large screen inside The Royal Society before going outside to the terrace to watch the parade travel back up The Mall. The King's Troop, Royal horse Artillery leave first and proceed to Green Park in order to fire the royal 41-gun salute in honor of The Queen's Official Birthday.

Important guests then leave but chose not to wave to us..
 

The Sovereign's Escort (The Life Guards, in red jackets and white plumes, followed by the Blues and Royals, in blue jackets and red plumes) and mounted bands the leave with The Queen.

The fly past over the Mall was curtailed due the overcast conditions  - all we saw was the Red Arrows.

The terrace of The Royal Society viewed from The Mall with the trees in the way!.

 Crowds on the Mall after it opened to the public.

The Queen Mother and George VI watch over proceedings. The statue of the Queen Mother is the  national memorial to the Queen Mother, was unveiled by the Queen  in February 2009 and depicts her at 51 which was her age when her husband died. It was sculpted by Philip Jackson

On the way back to the ststion we watched the guns being loaded  onto lorries ready for the next event of the Summer season.