page_title: Trooping the Colour
section_title: Preparing for march-off
hierarchical_section_title: Trooping the Colour / Ceremonial commands and troop movements / Preparing for march-off
caption_attribution_description: English: King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, Trooping the Colour, 16 June 2012
context_page_description: Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, although its roots go back much earlier. On the battlefield, a regiment's colours, or flags, were used as rallying points. Consequently, regiments would have their ensigns slowly march with their colours between the ranks to enable soldiers to recognise their regiments' colours.
  Since 1748, Trooping the Colour has also marked the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is held in London annually on the second Saturday in June at Horse Guards Parade by St James's Park, and coincides with the publication of the Birthday Honours List. Among the audience are the Royal family, invited guests, ticket holders and the general public. The ceremony is broadcast live by the BBC within the UK and is also shown in Germany, Austria and Belgium and via live streaming on BritBox in both the United States and Canada. In the parade of 2018, Associated Press provided live streaming of the event to viewers across the world on the Time magazine YouTube channel and the Facebook page of the British newspaper The Telegraph.
context_section_description: Their director of music turns inwards on his horse as a signal to the Field Officer that the Household Cavalry and the King's Troop are now in position to formally end the proceedings under the command of the Field Officer.
  During the final Royal Salute, as the parade renders their birthday wishes from all 7 regiments of the Household Division to their colonel-in-chief, the colour of No. 1 Guard is lowered to the ground by the Ensign while "God Save the Queen" is played by the Massed Bands. Forming divisions once more, accompanied by the Corps of Drums, the guards prepare to march off, and the Household Cavalry and the King's Troop leave the field. The Field Officer, after forming the parade for the march-off, then rides towards the saluting base, informing the Queen that the guards are ready to march off the field while the RSM of the Escort returns his sword into his scabbard as an orderly returns to him his pace stick.
  The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery leaves Horse Guards Parade and proceeds to Green Park (adjacent to Buckingham Palace) to formally commence the royal 41-gun salute. At the same time in the Tower of London, the Honourable Artillery Company takes its positions in the tower grounds for the special 62-gun salute that will be happen when the Queen arrives. This gun salute is only done by the HAC during royal anniversaries.
caption: Members of King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, returning along the Mall.
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