The Life Guards - Four O'Clock Parade - 21 April 2015

The Queen's Life Guard is found on alternate days by each of the Household Cavalry Regiments, The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals, at Horse Guards on Whitehall. The Queen's Life Guard is on this day found by The Life Guards. A Short Guard comprising two Non-Commissioned Officers, on this day two Corporals of Horse (rank equivalent to Sergeant) plus ten Troopers, is mounted when The Queen is not resident in London. A Long Guard comprising an Officer, Corporal Major, two Non-Commissioned Officers, a Trumpeter and ten Troopers is mounted when The Queen is resident in London. With a Short Guard, the Orderly (Duty) Officer inspects the Guard at 16:00, known as the Four O'Clock Parade. With a Long Guard, the Captain of Queen's Life Guard undertakes the inspection. The first Royal Court in London was on the site of the current Houses of Parliament, still known as the Palace of Westminster. At that time the area was rural with the walled City of London ending near where St Paul's Cathedral stands today, almost two miles away. As the Westminster site grew more as a place of government, King Henry VIII re-established the Royal Court at the Palace of Whitehall in 1530. Across the road (of Whitehall) from the Palace, a guards barracks was built to guard the Palace. That site is today the building known as Horse Guards. When the Palace of Whitehall was destroyed by fire in 1698, the Royal Court moved to St James's Palace, excepting that King William III preferred Kensington Palace during his reign. The Gateway at Horse Guards (the building) became the official entry through which dignitaries passed on their way through St James's Park to St James's Palace. When Queen Victoria established Buckingham Palace as her residence, Horse Guards remained the official entry and that is why the Household Cavalry mount guard there today. All Royal weddings, funerals, coronations and Heads of State still pass through Horse Guards Arch. To see the Blues and Royals at the Four O'Clock Parade on the preceding day, see here;    • Blues and Royals - Four O'Clock Parade - 2...   MORE HORSE GUARDS VIDEOS COMING JULY 2015 - SUBSCRIBE