page_title: Trooping the Colour
section_title: After the ceremony
hierarchical_section_title: Trooping the Colour / After the ceremony
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Colour, 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: When the Queen returns to Buckingham Palace, the first division of the Escort to the Colour forms into two detachments of the new guard and enters the forecourt, opposite the old guard; but unlike the usual Changing of the Guard, the Regimental Sergeant Major participates in the ceremony. The  remainder of the guards perform a march-past outside the gateway, in quick time instead of the usual slow time, with the Queen, positioned before the central gateway, receiving their salute. As the guards march past, their regimental marches are played by the massed and mounted bands respectively. The rest of the Royal Family observes the march-past from the balcony.
  The Queen's carriage passes into the palace between the Old and New Guards, with both guards saluting her. The usual semi-daily Changing of the Guard continues on the forecourt of the palace.
  The gun salutes begin on the arrival of the Queen at Buckingham Palace, with the King's Troop firing a 41-gun royal salute in Green Park and the Honourable Artillery Company firing a 62-gun royal salute from the Tower of London grounds.
  Finally, the Queen and the Royal Family on the palace balcony witness a flypast by the Royal Air Force, often featuring the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Red Arrows. This is once again followed by the National Anthem and in special years, a feu de joie followed by the shouting of the three cheers to the Queen on behalf of the entire Household Division.
caption: Balcony appearance by the Royal Family following the 2012 Trooping the Colour.
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