King's Guard

[3] The King's Guard in London changes in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11:00 am every day in early summer and four times per week otherwise.

During this time the band has taken its place by the centre gate, formed up in a half-circle, where it plays music to entertain the new and old guard as well as the watching crowds.

During this period, the two regimental colours are paraded up and down by the ensigns (usually junior officers of second lieutenant rank or equivalent).

At the end of the slow march, the captain of the old guard gives the word of command to 'break into quick time' and with a brisk five-pace roll from the drums, the band leads the way back to Wellington Barracks.

If the nuisance or threat still does not cease the sentry will assume the position of "port arms" whereby he points his rifle at the source of the interference.

[7][8] In London, the sentry posts most recently remaining not behind any sort of fence were those at the Pall Mall entrance to St James's Palace.

Following the restructuring of the army announced in 2006, the arms plot system ceased – infantry battalions have now been given fixed roles and locations.

The King's Colour Squadron represents the whole Royal Air Force as the units mounting the guard need to be infantry trained.

In the summer of 2018, Balaklava Company, the dedicated public duties unit of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, both provided the Guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

[16] In November 2017, the Royal Navy mounted the guard with a company-sized detachment formed of volunteers from 45 ships and shore establishments for two weeks.

[26] Only one unit from a Commonwealth country where the sovereign was not head of state has formed the guard, the 1st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment in 2008.

British Empire and Commonwealth units have formed the guard to mark a number of occasions, such as the coronations of George VI in 1937 and Elizabeth II in 1953.

[34][29] The following is a list of units from the British Empire and Commonwealth to have mounted the King's Guard:[35] On 8 April 2024, to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, a detachment from the 2e Régiment d'Infanterie of the French Garde Republicaine became the first unit from a non-Commonwealth country to participate in the ceremony - the detachment were marched onto the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in place of that day's New Guard, and were inspected by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh alongside Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne, the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, before then being marched off.

The band of the Honourable Artillery Company has occasionally been invited to provide musical support since the 1990s and continues to do so in the 21st century.

[28] In May and June 2014, the Vancouver Police Pipe Band was invited to provide musical support during the mounting of the Queen's Guard, to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

[citation needed] Female officers were also among the contingent of Royal Canadian Mounted Police members who formed the Queen's Life Guard in May 2012.

In 2004, a member of the pressure group Fathers4Justice spent five and a half hours standing on the parapet by the balcony at the front of Buckingham Palace.

Although the Queen was not present at the time, it raised fears of the possibility of a terrorist attack on the palace, and gave rise to calls for the British Army to be given a greater hand in the overall security of the Royal Family.

The Household Division had also provided night guards for the Bank of England, Covent Garden Opera House, and Drury Lane.

As the protection of the Tower is their responsibility (in conjunction with the Yeoman Warders), the guard must also see it is secure at night (see Ceremony of the Keys).

[56] During the Gordon Riots in 1780, a detachment of the Foot Guards successfully defended the Bank of England from a violent mob.

The other ranks were given a pint of beer with their dinner and one brand new shilling, two for a sergeant, to buy tea and a cake in the canteen.

From 1963, the Bank Picquet travelled by vehicle clad in service dress and armed with automatic weapons, with the emphasis on security moving from ceremonial to tactical deployment.

Improved security features and armed police made the guard unnecessary, and the service ended on the evening of 31 July 1973.

The location of the ceremony at Windsor varies; in the Easter, when the King is in residence it usually takes place on the lawn in the castle's quadrangle.

At 10:40 am, the new guard marches from Victoria Barracks, through Windsor and turns left, going up Castle Hill to enter the Lower Ward.

The guards will then slope arms and the reliefs will be formed up to go around the castle and change the sentries – during this process, the band typically plays a selection of music.

Although the Household Division's primarily operates in London and Windsor,[1] the Scots Guards have mounted these postings when the sovereign is in Edinburgh.

[61] These sentry postings are also mounted at other times of the year, including Lord Commissioner's Week, and the month of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Until 2001, sentries were permanently posted on the Esplanade at the entrance of the castle, ostensibly as the guards to the Honours of Scotland housed inside.