It might not be the Trooping we want, but it’s the Trooping we’re going to get. “There will be a small, brief military ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark The Queen’s official birthday,” a palace spokesperson has said. The Daily Mail reports that there will be a smaller than usual division of the Welsh Guards trooping their colour (regimental flag), accompanied by a small group of the massed Bands of the Household Division. It is also thought there will be Royal Salute to The Queen at 11am in the Quadrangle, which is the time she would normally just be entering Horse Guards Parade. The BBC will be covering the event, so we’ll try to have a link to a Live Feed (if there is one) ready to go for Saturday morning.
In the meantime, we want to make 2020 the best VIRTUAL Trooping there has ever been and that’s where all of you come in! We want to see Troopings. Old Troopings, recent Troopings, even drawings of Troopings if you must. And don’t forget the rest of the family! Show us your favorite balcony appearances, from 1909 to 2019, and all points in between. If 2020 is determined to cancel every royal event we hold dear, then we’ll use our photos to make it the biggest and best yet!
We’ll start you off with Princess Elizabeth at some of her first events. 1947, 1949 and in 1951, when she took the salute in place of her father.
Elizabeth’s first Trooping as Queen, June 1952
Can’t leave out the balcony. 1952 to 1992 on the decade.
Okay, we’ve got you started, let’s see those photos! And make sure to check back late Friday, early Saturday for hopefully, a Live Feed link.
ETA – We have our link! Hopefully we’ll still have it tomorrow.
Update: Some photos from today. The Queen looked great, don’t you think? She’s wearing her leek brooch, no doubt in honor of the Welsh Guards.