Today is the "Official" Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Which is not to say it is her actual birthday which is on the 21st of April
The "Official" birthday of the Monarch is celebrated on the 1st 2nd or sometimes the 3rd Saturday on June ever since Edward VII decided he would like a bit better weather for his special day.
Of course being British we couldn't let the day go without some Pomp and Ceremony and as such it is the day of the Queens Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour.
Although very much a ceremonial event it does have practical origins. Back in the day of poor communications the rallying point on the field of battle for each regiment would be around its flag, or "colours" To ensure each soldier knew his own regiments colours, during parade each day the flag would be "trooped" in front of them. The colours would also be trooped before and after a battle to show to the Regiment that the Ensign was in tact, along with their honour.
Things have changed somewhat since then and most military leaders see the benefit of being a little less conspicuous, wearing a bright red tunic in a wide open sandy environment is perhaps not the brightest of things to do ! It reminds me of a classic Far Side cartoon image...
But I digress, the Trooping of the colour is an elaborate event, full of all those traditions and history we as Brits do so well. Its worth remembering as well that the army doesn't have troops that just do the ceremonial duties, these guys have probably recently been or a due to rotate onto active service. The video I came up with gives a pretty good insight into the event ...
