Trooping The Colour

I had a great three-day visit to London staying with my lovely sister, the highlight of which was a prime spot on The Mall to watch my first Trooping The Colour Ceremony.
I chose a spot by 9am and didn't move until 12.30pm, when I walked with thousands of other people to Buckingham Palace for a flypast in the company of the Royal Family.
The weather was fine all morning, and poured down twenty minutes after the whole event finished!!

 When all the Guards look the same in red uniforms with huge Bearskins, there is a way to distinguish the Regiments;

Regiment	Tunic Buttons	Badge on Collar	Badge on Shoulder	Plume 'hackle' on Bearskin
Grenadier Guards	Single	Grenade	Royal Cipher	White on left side
Coldstream Guards	Pairs	Garter Star	Rose	Red on right side
Scots Guards	Threes	Star, Order of Thistle	Thistle	None
Irish Guards	Fours	Shamrock	Star, Order of St. Patrick	Blue on right side
Welsh Guards	Fives	Leek	Leek	White and green on left side

I used my new Fuji X20 camera as a 'snap and shoot' and my Panasonic Lumix G1 with a 45-175mm zoom lens for the close-up shots.

First of all, I chose a prime spot, thankfully in front of all these people!!

The first Guards on parade were the Grenadiers, who were lining the route this year. The Sgt Major is using his pace stick to get the Guards equally spaced along The Mall. I think this guard picked up the wrong trousers!!

 

Welsh Guards parading on

Welsh Guards being saluted by a stretcher-bearer party.

Grenadier Lance-Corporal saluting.

Royals arriving. Prince Harry with the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Cornwall.

The Massed Band of all the Regiments leads the Troop off Horseguards.

King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. They fired a 41-gun salute in Green Park.

Life Guards.

Blues And Royals.

1st Life Guards solid Silver Drum presented in 1831, weighing 59lbs!!

Prince Harry waving on return.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II giving me a wave!!

Back at Buckingham Palace, the Royals came out for the Flypast......

......which was finished in great style by the Red Arrows!!

And after the parade, the clean-up of you-know-what began!!