Trooping the Colour 1983

The Queen of England’s actual birthday is in April. However, it is tradition to have the official celebration of the birthday of whoever the current British Monarch is in early June. This is called Trooping the Colour and is quite a spectacle.

Mom and I had determined during the days leading up to the Trooping the Colour what the best place to view it would be. We chose the steps leading from The Mall up to the Duke of York’s Column. The Duke in question was the second son of King George III who died in 1827. He had been Commander in Chief of the British Army and was so beloved by the men that they pulled together the funds to create the monument.

We found a spot at the base of the column (and at the top of that part of the steps) where we could sit down when we needed to, but could easily see over the crowds in front of us. I bought a program from a member of the Welsh Guards, in full dress uniform, who actually was Welsh. This was the first time I had heard a Welsh accent and I was enthralled. Since he wasn’t on duty, we could actually talk a little until someone else came up to get a program.

The ceremony consisted of a parade from Buckingham Palace to the Horseguards Parade consisting of representatives of all of the British and Commonwealth armies plus most of the Royal Family. In 1983, the Queen rode on horseback with Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, and the Duke of Kent just behind. The last time she rode horseback was 1986. She has taken a carriage since then (along with Prince Phillip). The Trooping the Colour tradition goes back as far as the 17th century.

At the Horseguards Parade, the Queen receives a royal salute and then inspects the troops of the Household Division. These include both the foot guards and the horse guards. After this, they all parade back to Buckingham Palace, where the entire Royal Family assembles on the balcony while Royal Air Force jets fly overhead.

I have included a couple of photos of the Trooping the Colour that I did not take, just to give an idea of it. Back in 1983 I had a camera without a zoom. So, though I took a lot of photos, it can be difficult to see what is in them without greatly enlarging them. In the one with the Queen Mother and Princess Diana in a carriage, the carriage is over to the right side and is drawn by a white horse. The Queen Mother is in blue while Diana is in grey and white.

The photo with the Queen shows her to the left of the photo riding a chestnut horse and with a white cockade in her hat. She is just in front of a white horse with the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Kent right behind the white horse.

We stayed until the parade passed us heading back to Buckingham Palace. Then we headed over to Westminster Abbey to visit the Royal Tombs.

Back in 1983, the main entrance to Westminster Abbey was used unless visiting the Royal Tombs. The entrance that is now used for visitors to the entire abbey was used only for the Royal Tombs back then. When entering, we were greeted by the painting of Richard II at his coronation (at the age of nine) that was commissioned by him and painted during his lifetime. The Coronation Throne was behind the Shrine of Edward the Confessor. Today both the painting and the throne are at the front of the abbey near the Tomb of the Unknown.

It could have been that the Shrine of Edward the Confessor was only open to the public because of it being the Queen’s Official Birthday, but Mom and I were able to go up the steps and walk around among the tombs of Edward I (and Queen Eleanor of Castile), Richard II (and Queen Anne of Bohemia), Henry III, Edward III (and Queen Phillipa of Hainault), and Henry V. Edward the Confessor’s queen, Edith of Wessex, is buried somewhere near his shrine, but nobody knows for certain exactly where. The shrine was built by Henry III in 1241 directly above where the Confessor was originally interred.

All of the tombs, except Edward I, have effigies of the person or people inside lying on the top. Edward didn’t plan to stay there. His instructions had been to be taken to Scotland and be buried there once his son, Edward II, conquered the country. Junior didn’t conquer Scotland. Instead Robert the Bruce beat the tar out of him at Bannockburn and won independence from England (which lasted until James VI of Scotland became James I of England).

The shrine was closed to the public on all of my visits since then. But, at some point, it became available during special Verger tours. My most recent trip to London in 2017 included a Verger Tour of Westminster Abbey. I was able to re-experience the thrill that I felt to be able to spend time up in the shrine. In 2017, we could also kneel in the niches of the shrine for prayer, if we chose to do so. The niches were quite worn from the knees of 800 years of people kneeling there.

Originally Mom and I had planned to take a boat to Hampton Court Palace from Westminster Pier. But since we were behind in our schedule by a couple of hours, we found we missed the last boat to Hampton Court. We decided to take the boat to Greenwich instead.

At Greenwich, we visited the Queen’s House. It was designed by Inigo Jones for Anne of Denmark, who was the queen of James I. Anne died before it was completed, so it ended up as the property of Henrietta Marie, queen of James’ son, Charles I. It was used just a short time before the English Civil War and Charles’ execution.

When the Tudor palace that used to be at the edge of the water was demolished and the Royal Seaman’s Hospital built (by Sir Christopher Wren), the new building was in two parts to keep from spoiling the vista from the Queen’s House to the Thames. This is now the Old Royal Naval College. The Queen’s House itself contains mostly period rooms, while the wings contain a Royal Museum and parts of the Maritime Museum (at least that was what was there in 1983). It was a special treat to be able to see Admiral Horatio Nelson’s uniform.

We could see the Royal Observatory from the Queen’s House, but didn’t quite have time to do everything. So we decided to see the Cutty Sark instead. I finally visited the Observatory in 2016.

1983 was several years before the 2007 fired that severely damaged the ship. So it was quite intact from when it had been built in 1869. It was very exciting to be able to climb around on the ship. At that point (since London in 1983 was really my first trip anywhere) I had never been on an old sailing ship before. I love old ships and had a couple of ancestors who were ship captains, so it was very special to me.

Next time – our last full day in London before heading out for a couple of day trips.