King Charles and The Princess Royal came together as the Colonel in Chief of The Household Cavalry and Colonel of The Blues and Royals retrospectively to attend the presentation of new standards to The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. The presentation took place at Windsor Castle.
His Majesty was received on the dais in the Quadrangle by a Royal Salute and the National Anthem was played. Previously, the Quadrangle of the Castle has been used for scaled back Trooping the Colour in the 2020, as well as in 2021.
A joint engagement for King Charles and The Princess Royal. (Royal Family)
During the ceremony, The Band of the Household Cavalry, The Dismounted Squadrons and Mounted Troops were positioned in the Quadrangle. At the centre of the parade was the silver kettle drums with the new Union Standards placed upon them. The Sovereign’s Standards were marched on parade.
The King, together with The Princess Royal, and Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne, as Colonel of The Life Guards, inspected the parade.
His Majesty added how these ‘Standards remain a physical reminder of that very personal bond between the Sovereign and the Regiments of The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals. They have lasted the test of time in various guises since before the Restoration to the present day. The one-time physical rallying point for your forebears, although they are now more often seen on parade, they remain a golden thread that connects the present to an illustrious past’.
The Princess Royal, Colonel The Blues and Royals, attending the presentation of new standards to The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals at Windsor Castle, Berkshire. (Royal Family)
Colours were originally used as rallying points for troops on the battlefield and feature a regiment’s emblems and battle honours. Today, they are typically seen during ceremonial duties.
Infantry colours and their cavalry counterparts, which are known as standards and guidons, are among the most sacred of symbols of the Army.
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