As someone from right outside of Philadelphia, I know a thing or two about parades.<\/p>\n
Super Bowl parades, the 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade (older than the Macy\u2019s Parade, by the way) and the Mummers Parade that many people haven\u2019t heard of but has become a Murphy family tradition to watch with a bowl of Buffalo chicken dip on New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
Philadelphians love a good celebration in the streets \u2014 sometimes to the point where law enforcement has to \u201cgrease the poles\u201d to prevent people from climbing them in their fits of passion.<\/p>\n
Parades instill a sense of fierce camaraderie in people from a city like Philly. It\u2019s a free invitation to yell and cheer as loud as you want, potentially drink a little too much and dress up in insanely elaborate outfits or obscene t-shirts with your closest friends and family.<\/p>\n
For a brief moment in time, everyone is unified for one common purpose.<\/p>\n
So naturally, when I heard that I\u2019d be here in London for Trooping the Colour \u2014 The King\u2019s Birthday Parade, I knew I had to go.<\/p>\n
Not only was it a chance to see the famous red-coated London Guards in action, but also King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate and their children.<\/p>\n
The prospect of being mere feet away from royalty was enough to make my roommate, Sophia, and I drag ourselves out of bed on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. to get ready and head to the tube station towards Green Park.<\/p>\n
We arrived outside Buckingham Palace around 8:30 a.m., two hours before the parade start time, and there was barely anyone there. We were genuinely shocked and were sure we\u2019d be fighting our way through a mob.<\/p>\n
But that meant we were essentially on the barricade with a full view of the Mall and Buckingham Palace. Sophia and I purchased mini Union Jack flags from a pleasant older fellow for only 2 pounds each, and were ready to wave them as the royals passed us.<\/p>\n
During our two-hour wait, people slowly filed in behind us and chatted quietly amongst themselves or listened to music in headphones.<\/p>\n
I was honestly a bit shocked by this \u2014 at home, there would\u2019ve been some light singing or chanting involved to ease the wait time and a beer or two shotgunned.<\/p>\n
But no, the British stood patiently.<\/p>\n
The parade started at 10:30 a.m., with drums sounding and trumpets blaring as the London Guards marched down the Mall in respectful celebration.<\/p>\n
A Swedish man with a large camera standing next to my roommate and I alerted us, \u201chere comes Charles and Camilla,\u201d after a few minutes passed.<\/p>\n
There was no screaming, no throwing objects, no pole climbing as the King of the United Kingdom rolled by calmly in his carriage.<\/p>\n
He was followed by Prince William on horseback ahead of Princess Kate and the children in another carriage.<\/p>\n
Sophia and I were the only ones in our section with flags, so we waved them frantically and cheered as the carriage rolled by.<\/p>\n
This got us direct eye contact and a wave from Princess Kate.<\/p>\n
I was absolutely starstruck. How could I, someone born over 3,000 miles and an ocean away from London, receive a direct wave from a princess? And why was I feeling such love for a country that wasn\u2019t mine?<\/p>\n
I think it was a mixture of how I was raised to love a good parade celebration, but also the fact I got to experience something abroad that I thought would be so familiar, only to learn it\u2019s much different in London than it is at home. And it wasn\u2019t a bad thing.<\/p>\n
While Londoners still showed up to snap pictures and have a good time at the King\u2019s Birthday Parade, I learned that Philadelphians are just built differently when it comes to street celebrations.<\/p>\n
My Philadelphian passion and ability to cheer freely were enough to make a royal notice me in a crowd.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s to many more parades inside my city (hopefully a World Series one sometime soon).<\/p>\n
MORE ABROAD COLUMNS<\/strong><\/p>\n