Trooping the Colour 2012

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Celebrate the Queen's birthday this year and see Trooping the Colour take place in June

Trooping the Colour on The Mall Trooping the Colour on The Mall

Trooping the Colour is a military parade held each year to celebrate the birthday of the British sovereign. The parade features the different regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies and has been an event in the royal calendar since the seventeenth century. The parade starts on The Mall with the Queen being escorted in a horse and carriage down to Horse Guards Parade where the march-past of the household cavalry takes place. There is also a flypast by the Royal Air Force and a 21 gun salute.

Visit royal venues in London

  • Kensington Palace

    Kensington Palace

    Kensington Gardens, London, W8 4PX

    Sir Christopher Wren extended this Jacobean mansion to palatial proportions on the instructions of William III.
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  • Household Cavalry Museum

    Horse Guards, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AX

    'Household Cavalry' is a fairly workaday name for the armoured equestrian peacocks who make up the Queen's official guard.
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What is Trooping the Colour?

Trooping the Colour is also known as the Queen's birthday parade and is an annual ceremony where regiments of Britain and the Commonwealth are inspected by the Queen.

When is Trooping the Colour 2012?

There are three chances to watch Trooping the Colour. In the two weeks prior to the Queen's birthday parade there are two rehearsals. These are The Major Generals Review which takes place on June 2 and The Colonel's Review on June 9. The final Trooping the Colour will take place on June 16, attended by the Queen.

Travel information

The nearest tube station to the Horse Guards Parade is Westminster (district, circle and jubilee lines). Westminster tube station is expected to be very crowded on the dates of the Trooping the Colour events, so use Charing Cross or Embankment tube stations instead.

Plan your Tube journey


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