It’s as British as a cream tea, or The Mousetrap or visiting Leicester Square, but like all of the above, you’ll never find a Londoner going to see it except under extreme duress or by accident.
I’m talking about Changing the Guard, the thrice-weekly (Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with a ‘stripped down’ version on Sundays) taster of royal pomp and ceremony that takes place around Buckingham Palace.
Those of us who have a professional reason for watching it (shepherding London’s visitors around) know that trying to stand at the railings of the palace is a mug’s game; you have to be there very early in order to get a view of the action in the courtyard, and once there you’re stuck for 90 minutes or more.
The trick is to know where the soldiers and their bands assemble, and catch them on the move, and to be able to do that you need to know a little bit more about what is actually going on.
The guard change (or ‘Guard Mount’ to give it its more formal name) is the official handing over of responsibility for the protection of the royal palaces from the ‘Old Guard’ (the unit that have been on duty) to the ‘New Guard’ (who are marching in to take over).
Note I said “palaces” above, because the guard is split between Buckingham Palace and the old Tudor/Stuart St James’s Palace down The Mall. At a little before 1040 the St James’s Palace detachment of the Old Guard assembles in the courtyard of that palace and, led by one of the regimental bands, marches down The Mall to the Buckingham Palace courtyard where it meets up with the detachment ‘guarding’ that palace.
While this is going on the New Guard gather in front of Wellington Barracks on Birdcage Walk and at 1057 march through the barrack gates (again, led by a band) to meet the Old Guard at Buck House.
Once there, the ceremony ‘officially’ begins – the combined bands play tunes (often show tunes, but I’ve also heard Blondie’s ‘Atomic’, ‘Bat Out of Hell’ and, deliriously wonderfully, the theme tune to ‘The Sweeney’), and the officers officially transfer responsibility for the guarding* of the palaces.
(*The actual security if, of course, provided by the black-clad, heavily armed cops just inside the palace railings. I do not know whether the guards’ rifles are loaded.)
At around 1140, everything is done in reverse. The Old Guard leaves with its band back to the barracks, then the St James’s Palace detachment marches out with its band back down The Mall to take up their duties at SJP.
Time it right and at 1040 you can catch the band and guards going down The Mall to Buckingham Palace, then walk swiftly through the park and over the Blue Bridge to see the New Guard leave their barracks. (Although come the tourist crush of the summer, you’re better off claiming a spot by the barrack gates early and staying there until the New Guard marches out.)
Generally some of the five red-coated, bearskin-bedecked, regiments of footguards will be on duty, but over the summer there are ‘guest regiments’ who are given the honour of providing the palace guard.
I have to say that even as a distinctly non-militaristic republican I find the event entertaining, so if you haven’t done it, pop down and catch the event one day and bring out your inner child.
There’s more info here on the Guards’ website (which is also where I nicked the maps from).
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