A FINE SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 3, 4 July 1938, Page 11

A FINE SHOW

TROOPING THE COLOUR

THE KING WITH HIS GUARDS

PALACE PAGEANTRY

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, June 11. It is interesting to be reminded that j Trooping the Colour is, strictly speak-! ing, a guard-mounting ceremony. It dates from the eighteenth century, when what was known as "lodging the Colour" obtained. In the early days it was the custom for the battalion finding guards for the day to troop the Colour to be carried on the King's! Guard. Years ago it was the custom to find the public guards on the King's birthday from the flank companies of. the whole brigade. It is from this custom that the ceremony of Trooping the Colour on the anniversary of his Majesty's birthday originates. The pageantry of June 9 began and ended at Buckingham Palace, and the thousands of people who saw the King ride out in procession and return later at the head of his Guards enjoyed a stimulating double spectacle. The Royal Standard floated above the Palace, and the sunshine made, more vivid scenes normally rich in colour. Indeed, the morning proved so warm that the heat caused a large number of casualties. Four Guardsmen collapsed during the Trooping, and the St. John Ambulance Brigade treated 342 spectators who collapsed or fainted. Of these, six were taken to hospital, and one woman, injured in a fall, was detained. QUEEN MARY AND THE PRINCESSES. The Queen, for whom a Captain's escort of Life Guards, with Standard, had been provided this year, was unable to be present, as she had not sufficiently recovered from her cold. But the procession plans were unaltered. Queen Mary left the Palace first, with the two Princesses, and for them there was a specially cordial welcome. Queen Mary once again delighted the* crowds by the dignity of her presence, and as the open landau swept along with its escort of Life Guards she and her grandchildren were cheered affectionately throughout their drive to the Horse Guards Parade. They viewed the ceremony from a window above the arch. Queen Mary was in pale lilac; the Princesses were in pink. For the first time a Captain's escort trotted in front of the landau and behind it. THE KING'S CAVALCADE. The cheering of the crowds in the Mall foretold the approach of the King. It grew in volume as the Royal procession, led by the massed mounted bands of the Life Guards and the Royal Horse. Guards, turned on to the parade ground. A crescendo roll of the drums and the playing by the massed bands of the National Anthem in Royal Salute indicated that the King had reached the saluting point. His Majesty was attended by the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, the Earl of Harewood, Major-General the Earl of Athlone, the Duke of Beaufort (Master of the Horse), Field-Mar-shal Lord Birdwood (Gold-Stick-in-Waiting), military members of the Army Council, military attaches of sixteen nations, and officers of the Brigade of Guards. The King's first act was to turn and salute Queen Mary, then smile at his daughters. The Colour trooped was the King's Colour of the battalion furnishing the King's Guard for the day, the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards. The actual Trooping was done to the stately j slow march of Meyerbeer's "Les! Huguenots" and the rousing "British Grenadiers." The escort for the Colour moved out and halted opposite it. The Colour was | then taken over by the Ensign, the band playing the National Anthem as the Colour Guard honoured it with a salute. KING AT HEAD OF GUARD. First a slow march and then a quick march by the brigade followed. The Colour was escorted to the saluting point, and passed the King with all the stateliness of which disciplined Guardsmen age capable. The slow march is the testing time for the Guardsmen in this, intricate ceremonial. They passed the King as one man, their arms swinging with the regularity of clockwork. The Scots Guards' pipe band opened the marfch in quick time with "Hielan' Laddie." For an hour the King had sat almost motionless on his horse, only occasionally moving his white-gloved hand in salute. At the hour of noon there was the first reverberation of the artillery salute for the King's birthday—one round for each year of his Majesty's age. The Trooping over, the Guards were formed into divisions, and the King, placing himself at the head of the King's Guard, rode down the Mall to Buckingham Palace with the column. Accompanying his Majesty were the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Harewood. Large crowds surged round the Palace forecourt to hear the massed bands. SUCCESSFUL TELEVISION. , The ceremony was televised with 'conspicuous success. It was carried out in brilliant sunshine and even distant figures on the fringe of the crowd could be seen clearly. The close-ups were particularly good. Viewers saw with realistic nearness Queen Mary and the Princesses as they arrived, the King as he rode on to the Parade, the stately ,progress of the Royal inspection, the 'Ensign taking the Colour, the Trooping itself, and then the march past to the music of massed bands. The camera near the saluting base gave intimate views of the King. From time to time the screen showed in bold relief the ! dignified central figure around whom I the military pageant moved. s