Trooping the Colour
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The Trooping the Colour takes place on the second Saturday in June at Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall in London.
What is the Trooping the Colour?
The official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is marked each year by a military parade and march-past, known as Trooping the Colour (Carrying of the Flag). The official name is “the Queen’s Birthday Parade”.
Each June, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall in London. The Queen attends the ceremony to take the salute from thousands of guardsmen who parade the Colour (their regiment's flag).
It is only the Foot Guards of the Household Division that take part in the Queen’s Birthday Parade, with the exception of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, (based in St. John’s Wood). The Kings Troop, parade round with the Household Cavalry after the Foot Guards have trooped the Colour in slow and quick time.
The Sovereign's Official Birthday The Queen's birthday parade is the biggest royal event of the year. In 1748, the celebration of the official birthday of the sovereign was amalgamated (merged) with the Trooping the Colour.The Trooping the Colour is tradition going back to the days when the Colours (regimental flag of the regiment) was trooped in front of soldiers to make sure everyone could recognise their flag in battle. The Colours today are trooped in front of the Queen troops of the Household Division (Foot Guards and Household Cavalry) Parade Route  The parade route goes from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horseguards Parade, Whitehall and back again.Time Queen leaves Buckingham Palace 10.40am Parade starts 11am Precisely as the clock on the Horse Guards Building strikes eleven, the Royal Procession arrives at Horseguards Parade and The Queen takes the Royal Salute. The parade begins with the Inspection, The Queen driving slowly down the ranks of all eight Guards and then past the Household Cavalry. After the event, the Royal Family gathers on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch an RAF fly past at 1pm.
The next Trooping the Colour
 Trooping the Colour will take place on Saturday 16 June 2012 on Horse Guards Parade. Events begin at approximately 10am and the parade starts at 11 a.m. (lasts approximately one hour).The processions can be seen from from the Mall. Events begin at approximately 10.00 am, with the fly-past at 1.00 pm. There are rehearsals on the two previous Saturdays which are also open to the public. Location Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, London SW1. |
Trooping the Colour 2014 London
On the Queen's 'official birthday', British citizens are awarded with honours:
Queen and Honours
The UK honours system rewards people for merit, service or bravery.
Queen and Honours
The latest honours have just been announced:
BBC News - Queen's Birthday Honours announced
As always, there was some controversy:
13 June 2014 Last updated at 22:33
Prof Colin Blakemore: Medical research defender knighted
Prof Colin Blakemore became a hate figure for animal rights campaigners
An influential scientist who defended medical research on animals, despite threats to his life, has been knighted in the Queen's Birthday honours.
Prof Colin Blakemore, 70, was recognised for his research and for communicating the importance of often controversial science.
Neuroscientist Prof Blakemore specialised in vision and how the brain continues to change even into adulthood.
He has been at the forefront of a field which has changed dramatically since he was a medical student at Cambridge University.
Protests
But he is widely known as a champion for science and communicating both the risks and potential benefits of controversial research to the public.
He became a hate figure for animal rights campaigners who would protest outside his house, throw bricks at his windows and worse.
"There were times I was shocked by what happened to me - razor blades in envelopes, bombs, threats against my kids - but I never doubted the principle of public engagement," he told the BBC.
Reflecting on his career he said: "I think we have an obligation. If the scientists themselves are always just anonymous figures behind the scenes, then I think the public have reason to be suspicious about our motives.
"It is important for science to be in the public arena including the difficult things such as animal research, climate change or stem cells."
He was chief executive of the Medical Research Council between 2003 and 2007, but became the only chief executive in the organisation's history to leave office without being knighted.
Government documents suggested this was due to his high-profile stance on animal experiments.
He told the BBC becoming "Sir Colin" would take "some getting used to" and that it was the "recognition and acknowledgment" which were important to him.
'Extraordinarily brave'
The knighthood has drawn widespread support within the scientific community.
The director of the group Sense About Science, Tracey Brown, said: "This is recognition of something that some of us have known for a long time, that Colin Blakemore is not only an excellent scientist but a genuine leader in discussing the most difficult research issues openly with the public.
"He put himself forward for public discussion on the hard issues, from animal testing to the MMR vaccine controversy, at a time when the authorities ran for the hills."
Prof Sir John Savill, chief executive at the Medical Research Council, said: "Prof Blakemore is a highly regarded researcher and has served UK science over many years extremely well.
"His support for the use of animals in research has been extraordinarily brave, he led the way on openness at a time when this was at great personal risk to himself and his family."
Dr Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust medical research charity, said: "Besides his groundbreaking work in neuroscience, he has paved the way for open communication on scientific issues of public importance."
BBC News - Prof Colin Blakemore: Medical research defender knighted
It was his open support for animal testing that made him such a hate figure for some. In particular, one experiment that involved sewing down the eyelids of kittens to study the development of vision in the brain enraged animal activists.
While his peers cowered before intimidation and threats of violence in the 1980s and 1990s, Sir Colin continued to justify his work to journalists, politicians and anyone who would listen.
As a result, he endured regular loud abusive protests outside his house, smashed windows, letters laced with razor blades, parcel bombs, kidnap threats directed at his children, and physical assaults.
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But not everyone is in favour:
"I am opposed to the honours system. The whole thing is a preposterous charade. Thousands of medals are given out in the name of a non-existent empire. It makes us look like a laughing stock and encourages deference to the Crown.
"I think it is exploited by politicians and always has been. Half the honours are given to people in the armed forces and civil service as a way of keeping their loyalty. I can't take it seriously."
We don't want to be honoured | Mail Online.
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