Trooping the Colour on Thursday 2nd June (moved from its normal Saturday date) was the starter for the long weekend of Jubilee Celebrations
I never imagined the crowds to be so huge though!!!
I got onto the Mall just after 6.30am and already it was 4-5 deep! So a front row spot was impossible. I have never known it so busy.
Sitting and relaxing was impossible as people were tightly packed into their areas!
Its always a day of great Pomp and Pageantry, and today was no different. The only snag was when a group of protestors jumped over the double barrierson The Mall and attempted to stop the bands marching up The Mall.
They were quicly dealt with and removed............
The Queen, now suffering from mobility issues, had announced she wouldn't be on Horse Guards Parade for the event. The salute was to be taken by HRH The Prince of Wales.
Making their carriage debut were all three Cambridge children, Prince's George & louis and Princess Charlotte. All very well skilled in the royal wave!
In the first carriage alongside them were TRH The Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge..
In the second carriage were TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and Viscount Severn.
In the third royal carriage were TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Vice Admniral Sir Timothy Laurence.
On horse back, accompanied by the troops, were
HRH The Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards
HRH The Princess Royal Colonel of the Blues and Royals
HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Colonel in Chief of the Irish Guards
Standing on The Mall, the whole parade passes by you so its a great vantage point.
One crowd pleaser were the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery who having sounded the horn, galloped past at pace. The clanking of the gun carriages in the air.
The ceremony lasts over an hour on Horse Guards Parade.
Then the parde returns, witht he royal carriages processing first.
Afterwards its the part of the day where the crowd gets led down The Mall to see the balcony appearance on Buckingham Palace and the flypast.
This years Balcony appearnce would show a slimmed down Monarch, limited to working rtyals and their children. Vice Admiral Tim Laurence was included as he accompanies his wife on royal visits,
Well..............................
Year after year i say to myself the long walk down the Mall will finish me, and it nearly did again. How I managed to get to the front I don't know.
However.................
This years thinbgs were slightly different. The children who stand on the corner of the Parade ground had an escort, and then the crowds, were held back by the Queen Victoria Memorial with their own escort.
With the BBC staging dominating the Palace (for the concert there 2 days later), the crowds view of the Balcony was severly limited, with lots of staging in the way!
Nevertheless, What a cheer went up when the Queen stepped onto the balcony, accompanied by her family.
God Save the Queen!
Photographs Copyright Paul Ratcliffe
NOT FOR REPRODUCTION
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