Today's first event was a 90 minute walking tour that included a changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Imagine our surprise to find out that the changing of the guard was cancelled because the queen was to speak at the opening of Parliament. Instead, we would see a whole parade of people heading from the Palace down the Mall (Mall rhymes with pal not with all.) to Parliament. At first we were disappointed, but the panoply of the event changed our minds. There were guards in red uniforms and big bear hats lined up along the entire route.
Three different bands dressed in the same outfits were playing at various points along the Mall.
There were horseback riders in royal blue uniforms and some in red uniforms, both with metal breast and back plates that clinked as they rode along. The first closed carriage carried the queen's crown which had been taken from the display in the Tower of London. The second had Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.
The last closed carriage had the Queen and Prince Phillip. The white glove you can see in the window is Prince Phillip's glove as he waves his hand.
We barely got a glimpse as the horses pulled them past us. There were also a bunch of open carriages with lots of people that our guide didn't know and couldn't identify for us. It was still very cool to watch. And at the end of it all, there was a lot of royal horse poop on the ground! (No, I didn't take any pictures of the royal horse poop!)
After that, we were able to actually get close to two of the guards at St. James Palace. We were warned to be very polite, ask if they would allow their pictures to be taken and DO NOT touch them. They can and will defend themselves against unrequested touching. I didn't want to have my picture taken beside them, but I did get a picture of one of them!
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