St James's Palace

London Explained – The Changing of the Guard…

by exploringlondon

It’s one of the most iconic London traditions – the ceremonial changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace.

Elite guards have served the monarch since the reign of King Henry VII – he made the Royal Body Guard a permanent institution – and Guards Regiments, among the oldest units in the British Army, were first raised in 1656 to protect King Charles II who was then living in exile in Bruges in modern Belgium.

PICTURE: DianaVolchik/Wikimedia Commons (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Changing of the Guard ceremony originally took place at the (now long-gone) Palace of Whitehall. But when the court moved to St James’s Palace in 1698, the ceremony went with them. And then, when Queen Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace in 1837, a detachment of guards was sent to guard the palace (with the Queen’s Guard also still guarding St James’s, a situation which continues today).

The main ceremonial Changing of the Guard today takes place at Buckingham Palace. It involves the Old Guard (those currently on duty, including the detachment from St James’s Palace) forming up in front of the palace and being relieved by the New Guard which has marched from Wellington Barracks, off Birdcage Walk, with a band which plays New Guard’s Regimental Slow March as it advances towards the Old Guard.

Both the Old and New Guard carry regimental flags, known as “Colours”. The guard duties are traditionally served by one of the five regiments of foot guards (part of the Household Division) which include the Welsh Guards, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards.

But regiments from Commonwealth nations and those from the Royal Navy or Royal Air Force also perform the duty from time to time.

The Changing of the Guard currently takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11am. The ceremony lasts about 45 minutes.

On days when the ceremony isn’t performed, the guard is still inspected by the Captain at 3pm except on Sunday when the flag (Colour) is incorporated into the ceremony, then known as the Sunday Parade, which takes place at 11am.

For more, see www.householddivision.org.uk/changing-the-guard-overview.

London Explained – Royal residences…

by exploringlondon

There are numerous royal palaces in London but which are royal residences?

Buckingham Palace. PICTURE: Sung Shin/Unsplash

Foremost is Buckingham Palace, the official residence and office of the monarch – Queen Elizabeth II – in London. The palace – acquired for the Crown by King George III in 1761, converted to a palace by King George IV and first lived in by Queen Victoria – is also used for State ceremonies and for official entertaining.

Clarence House. PICTURE: ChrisO (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

Other royal residences include Clarence House which is the official London residence of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The property was built between 1825 and 1827 to the designs of John Nash for Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence (hence the name).

It was the home of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, between 1953 and her death in 2002, and was also temporarily the home of the then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip following their marriage in 1947.

St James’s Palace. PALACE: Elisa.rolle (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

St James’s Palace, which was largely built by King Henry VIII and served as the residence of numerous monarchs until King William IV, also remains the home of several members of the Royal Family – including Princess Anne and Princess Alexandra – and their household offices.

The State Apartments are sometimes used for entertaining during in-coming State Visits, as well as for other ceremonial and formal occasions. Its history means diplomats are still accredited to the Court of St James.

Kensington Palace. PICTURE: Pranav Thombare/Unsplash.

Kensington Palace – childhood home of Queen Victoria and favoured residence of monarchs from King William III to King George II – is these days the official London residence of Prince William and Katherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

It also contains the London residences and offices of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

While Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, Kew Palace and the remnant of the Palace of Whitehall known as the Banqueting House are all royal palaces, they ceased being used regularly for royal court purposes in the 18th century and are now in the care of Historic Royal Palaces (along with parts of Kensington Palace).