If conversation falters you might ask “when was the first Birthday Parade”?
Those who prize antiquity assert it started in the reign of Charles II. More likely, as a Birthday Parade it was to honour George III, who was born on the Fourth of June 1738. His birthday is still celebrated at Eton but not on the exact date any more. Those early parades were not attended by the monarch. The Commander-in-Chief took the salute on behalf of the Monarch. In 1845 the C-in-C was the Duke of Wellington and the Royal Family watched from Buckingham Palace as he rode from Apsley House to Horse Guards. In fact Queen Victoria only attended one BP in 1895. It was held at Windsor Castle to mark her 76th birthday and was more like a ceremonial Guard Mounting than today’s parades. Indeed like the recent pandemic parades at Windsor.
Prince Albert meddled a bit, of course, changing the design of the helmets worn by The Household Cavalry. Other modifications to uniforms, headgear and saddles were made around the end of the 19th century. Some things did not change. The drill evokes the drill that proved so successful at Waterloo. Guardsman still have thirteen studs on their boots – one for every Victoria Cross the Guards regiments won in the Crimea.
It was George V who changed the parade. Wanting to establish a stronger link with the army he re-wrote the ceremony so that he could lead his troops along the Mall and be seen by the public. Fortunately his birthday is on 3rd June. Nothing much has changed since then. This has all been gleaned, and much more, from The Queen’s Birthday Parade; a magisterial work multi-authored with some arcane content.
I sometimes wear a Brigade of Guards tie and know the knot for me should be blue, red, blue. I found this out when I was told to correct my dress by a policeman (retired Foot Guards). The Life Guards knot should be red, blue; The Blues and Royals blue, red. I did not know that Brigade ties should not be worn after 6 pm or at weddings and never with a boating jacket – hmm, not sure about the 6.00 tie curfew. Incidentally, George V favoured using a ring to secure his tie, something that’s gone completely out of fashion except by dodgy cravat wearers. It certainly didn’t appeal to Edward VIII who took to tying a Windsor knot.
The Victoria Cross came into being in 1856 after the Crimean War – it would have been difficult to have been awarded one, let alone thirteen, at Waterloo………..
The mistake is mine – “the 13 studs represent the 13 Victoria Crosses won by the Guards regiments in the Crimea”. I will correct my error and thank you for pointing it out.