Why don’t the guards smile when they are on duty at Buckingham Palace? How do the guards stay in formation when they are marching? These are the kind of questions that visitors watching Guard change at Buckingham Palace really want answers to. Now a Royal Collection app gives them all that information – and more – at the touch of a button.
The Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace app is designed to enhance the experience of watching this traditional military ceremony, which has taken place at the Palace since 1837. It also provides an insight into what goes on behind the scenes, with footage of guards preparing for duty in the Guard Room at St James’s Palace and interviews with guardsmen from Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards.
Undertaken by one of the five regiments of the Foot Guards, Changing the Guard or ‘Guard
Mounting’ is the process by which the new Guard exchanges duty with the old. It is watched by
hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. The handover ceremony is accompanied by one of the five bands of the Foot Guards, who play traditional military marches, music from films and musicals, and even well-known pop songs.
Priced at 69p, the app includes:
- An interactive map, showing visitors where they are in relation to London landmarks and what route the Guard will take.
- Interviews with serving soldiers, who explain how they manage to stay in formation, how they keep their boots shiny, and how long they spend on duty.
- A ‘Kids’ Zone’, with answers to the questions children always ask – such as, ‘Why do the guards never smile when they are on duty?’
- Information about the music used in the ceremony.
- A key to recognising the regiments by their buttons and the plumes in their bearskin caps.
Jemima Rellie, Director of Publishing and New Media for the Royal Collection, said, ‘It is not always easy for visitors to understand what takes place at Guard change. Soldiers suddenly appear, there is music and marching – and it can pass all too quickly in a blur of colour and excitement. With our app, visitors to Buckingham Palace can find out what to expect, understand the significance of the event and keep children entertained while waiting for the soldiers’ arrival. We are exceedingly grateful to the Household Division for their support and behind-the-scenes insights, and are thrilled with the results.’
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Speed, Scots Guards (Brigade Major Household Division) said, ‘This useful app will help spectators of the Changing the Guard ceremony understand what they are seeing and that the guards are operational soldiers who also have to work very hard behind the scenes to achieve the high standards needed for this ceremonial parade on a daily basis.’
- Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace takes place at 11:30, daily from May to July and on alternate dates throughout the rest of the year.
- The Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace app is priced at 69p and is available to download from iTunes
