The Changing of the Guard
- Ms. World
- Jun 8
- 3 min read
The Changing of the Guard is one of the most famous things to see in London. Millions of people line up outside of Buckingham Palace, the official royal residence of the King or Queen of England, to see the royal guards.
They are always stationed outside the Palace, resplendent in bright red uniforms with their iconic bear fur hats.
The Iconic Hat
The hats are made with real fur, by the way, which comes all the way from Canada. There is a yearly culling of bears in Canada and the fur obtained from this event is used to make the hats, which are officially called bearskin hats.
Each one costs about $1500 to make and they were designed to make the guards look taller and therefore, more intimidating.
What's the Deal?
The Changing of the Guard is a literal shift change where the guards currently on duty are relieved by a fresh group. The traditional change actually dates back to the 1500s.
The very first Changing of the Guard took place at the Tower of London when it was still used as a royal residence during the reign of Henry VII, who was the father of a much more infamous British King, Henry VIII.
The ceremony is carried out by the Foot Guards, a group that was established during the English Civil War in the 1640s.
The Foot Guards essentially follow the monarch around and remain stationed outside of whichever Palace the king or queen happens to be using at the time.
The Ceremony
The ceremony begins with an official inspection. All the guards assemble for this check. The position of their buttons and the plumes they wear on their hats indicate whether their guard shift is ending or beginning.
The ceremony actually begins near Buckingham at another place entirely, St. James's Palace, and the guards are accompanied by a band as they march the short distance to Buckingham.
I was surprised to hear that the band actually plays modern music as they march. You might expect the British national anthem or some classical piece, but they may play Katy Perry. It's actually sort of funny if you're there hearing it, because it's a very serious-looking ceremony and here they come, strolling up rocking out to Doja Cat.
At this point, there is a ceremonial handshake that represents passing over the responsibility of guarding the monarch from one regiment of guards to the next.
You can tell if the monarch is actually at Buckingham or not by the number of guards. When there are only two guards standing outside the Palace, the monarch isn't home. If there are four guards, the king or queen is inside.
But There's More
The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham has become a symbol of the country itself and for many, it's a must-see event for any visit to London. However , this is not the only Changing of the Guard ceremony you can see during your London vacation.
There's also a big ceremony at Windsor Castle, which is another official residence, and here they march right down the street up to the Palace.
You may see guards wearing small plumes on the hats. There are little feathers that are used to identify particular regiments. I saw the guards at Windsor wearing blue when I was there, which means they were the Irish Guards.
A white plume is for the Grenadiers, red is for the coldstream Guards, the Welsh guards wear white and blue and the Scots guards wear no plume at all.
All the guards you see are active soldiers in the British military, and they actually have their own museum that is right next to Buckingham Palace. It's a small museum, but it's packed full of interesting exhibits dedicated to the royal guards and the British military in general and it was a pretty cool attraction to see.
It is always free to watch the Changing of the Guard!
...But show up early, or you won't be able to see much of anything at all.
Also, be prepared to be moved around, bumped into and touched by many random strangers. Once you're within the crowd outside the Palace, you aren't going anywhere, so be ready for that.
The entire ceremony at Buckingham takes about 45 minutes from the time they begin marching to the time the shift change is complete.
It's a cool thing to see and since it's free, I do recommend seeing it.
Thank you for watching and thank you for taking the journey with me.
Now, Voyager, sail forth to seek and find.
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