Buckingham Palace
Traditional custom is finally back
The guards of Buckingham Palace.
© imago / imagebroker
For almost a year and a half, tourists had to forego changing guards in front of the royal palace. Now the spectacle is back.
It’s a spectacular event that takes place (almost) every day in London – and a must for tourists: the changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. But since March 2020, the traditional “Changing of the Guards” has been flat due to the Corona. But on Monday (August 23) the guards marched again with their famous bearskin hats. At 11 o’clock the time had come as usual: The New Guards took turns in front of Buckingham Palace for the Old Guards.
As always, the ceremony was accompanied by a military band. As reported by the “Daily Mail”, among others, this time the orchestra performed the Olympic anthem in honor of the British Olympic team. Also thematically matching songs like “Gold” by Spandau Ballet, “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston (1963-2012, the anthem of the 1988 Games in Seoul) or the theme tune from “Hour of the Winner”, the 1981 Oscar-winning sports film .
500 year old tradition
The changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace goes back to Henry VII (1457-1509), so it is over 500 years old. The 30-minute spectacle takes place every day from April to July and every other day between August and March. In bad weather, the change falls into the water. The 17-month break due to the corona pandemic is not the first event that “Changing of the Guards” prevented.