London: Changing of the Guard

A jolly good show

We already mentioned that we went to see the Changing of the Guard and ran into none other than King Charles III himself. But there was a lot more to the day than just spotting the king.

The red-coated British guards in their bearskin hats were joined by the Brigade of Gurkhas, a highly respected, all-Nepalese unit that has been a part of the British Army for 210 years. The 4,000 or so Gurkhas, dressed in distinctive uniforms, have “a reputation of being amongst the finest and most feared soldiers in the world,” according to their army website.

Both the redcoat and the Gurkha contingents included soldiers to stand guard, as well as individual marching bands. Before marching out, the Gurkha band warmed up and entertained the crowd by playing the theme song to The Avengers.

For most of the ceremony, we were stationed along the main parade route to get the best views. But our guide also took us for a quick stop at Buckingham Palace.

A closer look at the Victoria Memorial.

We also passed by statues of the former king and queen, the parents of Elizabeth II. You might remember them from the movie The King’s Speech.

We thought it was important to point out that the soldiers weren’t the only ones we saw that morning who were traveling in tight formation.

All in all, an exciting day. And this has been our final post about London, we swear. Time to sail off into the sunset to new destinations.