The Changing of the Guard is the most watched free spectacle in London, and the most common complaint about it is that people could not see anything. That is a solvable problem, but it requires knowing a few things first.
What is actually happening
The King’s Guard mounts sentry duty at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace. The ceremony is the formal handover from the Old Guard, coming off duty, to the New Guard taking over — conducted with a full military band, and accompanied by the handing over of the palace keys.
It is a genuine duty roster, not a display put on for tourists. The soldiers are serving infantry, most of whom have done operational tours.
Going to see it
Four things worth knowing:
- Check the schedule first. It does not happen every day. It runs most days from spring to summer and on alternate days in winter, and it is cancelled in heavy rain. The Household Division publishes the timetable online.
- Arrive by 10.15 at the latest for an 11am start, and earlier in high summer.
- Do not stand at the palace railings. Everyone does, the view is blocked by the gates, and you will see very little. Stand instead on the steps of the Victoria Memorial, which is raised and gives a view over the whole forecourt.
- Watch the approach march instead. The New Guard marches from Wellington Barracks along Birdcage Walk from about 10.30, with the band. There is almost no crowd there, and you get the soldiers at arm’s length.
The uniforms
The scarlet tunics and bearskin caps are worn by the five regiments of Foot Guards. The bearskins are 18 inches tall, weigh around 1.5kg, and are genuinely made of bear fur — a fact that has kept the ceremony in the middle of an animal welfare argument for decades, with synthetic alternatives repeatedly tested and repeatedly judged not to perform in rain.
You can tell the regiments apart by the buttons and the plume: Grenadier Guards have evenly spaced buttons and a white plume on the left; Coldstream Guards have buttons in pairs and a red plume on the right; Scots Guards have buttons in threes and no plume at all.
Do not touch the guards
Sentries are on duty and armed. They will not react to being spoken to, but if you obstruct one they are permitted to shout a warning — and they do, at volume, with the full force of a parade ground. It is startling, and it happens to somebody most days.