Are the weapons real and are
they loaded? Yes and yes. Impressive that these are real soldiers and
well trained, and when not guarding the Queen, they’re deploying with their
units around the world. Many of them have had combat tours. And the weapons you
see are real and loaded. They aren’t at
the palace just for show.
At the beginning of a guard’s
tour of duty, he is told the following: "You
may not eat, sleep, smoke, stand easy, sit or lie down during your tour of duty".
At
Buckingham Palace the guards are inside the gates, mainly to prevent incidents
with tourists who in the past have interfered, but also because of the
terrorist threat. When the guards are
outside the gates, as they sometimes are, there is a procedure for dealing with
unruly miscreants. The first thing they
do is come to attention, loudly stamp a boot and say, “Stand back from the
guard.”
The
second step is to move his weapon into a ready position. In the third step, he will point his
weapon. Following that, the next step is
to signal for help (there’s a button inside the guard station), or detain the
person himself. That seems to be all
that is needed. To date, no weapons have been fired while on duty at Buckingham
Palace.
Should
you get in the way of a marching guard, he will shout, “Make way for the
Queen’s Guard.”
What about the bearskin
caps? Real or fake? REAL, made from Canadian black bear
skins. Cost is exorbitant: £1,224 (2016 price), or about $1555.45
each.
Are animal rights folks going
crazy? Yep. Have the British backed off? Nope.
Still, bearskin may be on its way out after a couple of centuries of
tradition, not because of animal rights, but because of cost. My observation is
that from the beginning of recorded history, economics have played a more
important role in change than any other single factor, whether the topic is
“the divine right of kings,” the rise and fall of dictators, who wins an
election, or the cost of bearskin caps.
What about the bands? Each regiment has its own, except for the
Household Cavalry regiments, who only have one combined band. They march from Wellington Barracks to the
palace for the ceremony. In the Changing
of the Guard, normally two bands play, one for the oncoming regiment and one
for the retiring regiment.
The cavalry rides from the
nearby Hyde Park Barracks.
Cavalry? Really in the 21st Century? Yes and no.
When not guarding the monarch, the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR)
horsemen are also ‘real soldiers’, serving in their operational role as a
Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, riding in armored fighting vehicles.
Things to know about the Cavalry: The horses are known as Cavalry Blacks and
stand at least 16 hands high (5 1/3 ft or 64 inches). No stallions and most are geldings.
In the 1982 Hyde Park Bombing,
four horsemen and seven horses were killed.
On their ride to Buckingham Palace, the Household Cavalry salutes the
monument.
Want more? Juliet Blaxland has
written a book on the horses, titled:
Nimrod, A Cavalry Black, from foal to retirement, with part of the
proceeds going to The Household Cavalry Foundation charity.
Yes, there is a lot more to
know, but you already know more than 99% of the folks who view The Changing of
the Guard at Buckingham Palace! Relax,
enjoy the music and the ceremony and the pageantry that has been a part of
British history for hundreds of years.
As a side benefit, here’s a
free mental check on your short-term memory.
If you fail this quiz, put down that bottle, sober up and try it again.
Does that guard have a white and green plume on his hat? Then he’s a member
of…………
That right, he's a Welsh Guard.
And from which regiment are
these red-coated Cavalry?
The Life guards, of course.
Check this
photo. Is the Queen in residence?
