Trooping Colour Seen In Moscow

Press, Volume C, Issue 29537, 12 June 1961, Page 13

Trooping Colour Seen In Moscow

tH Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright)

LONDON, June 10.

Moscow television viewers today saw one of Britain’s richest military spectacles—the annual Trooping the Colour in London. It was the first direct London to Moscow television transmission.

Russians saw the Queen take the salute at the ceremony, held to honour the Sovereign's official birthday

At the same time, Soviet authorities put the strongest possible competition on the opposing channel —Mr Khrushchev, President Breznev and President Soekarno of Indonesia, the Associated Press reported. Vast crowds of tourists and Londoners saw the Queen ride side-saddle to the HorseGuards' Parade, wearing the Guards’ scarlet tunic, with her blue riding skirt, and tricorn hat. She also wore the green riband of Scotland's Order of the Thistle—the Second Battalion of the Scots Guards having been chosen this year to Troop its Colours. With her rode the Duke of Edinburgh, in his uniform as a Colonel of the Welsh Guards, and the Duke of Gloucester, her uncle, who this year celebrates his 25th anniversary as a Colonel of the Scots Guards. Seven Regiments The Queen is Colonel-in-Chief of all seven Guards' regiments. Today’s ceremony was her tenth since her accession. Her 35th birthday was actually on April 21. but the "official” birthday celebrations are traditionally set in June in the hope of better weather. Today, as happened once before, in 1954. the Queen's official birthday coincided with Prince Philip’s actual birthday. The Prince Consort is 40.

Nearly 1200 troops were on parade, a splendid scarlet mass, with the sun glinting on the gold State dress of the Life Guards Band, and the breast-plates and drawn swords of the Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry. , The Queen later appeared on a balcony at Buckingham

Palace to watch a fly-past in her honour by 16 Royal Air Force Javelin jet aircraft. She held her 16-month-old son, Prince Andrew, for part of the time, before giving the salute at the fly-past.