LONDON'S PAGEANT

Hokitika Guardian, 26 July 1932, Page 2

LONDON'S PAGEANT

TROOPING THE COLOURS

NEW ZEALAND VISITORS. LONDON, June 17. ' More than 100 New Zealand visitors were privileged to . witness at e ose quarters the . Trooping of the on the j, T lorse Guards Parade last Saturday,. 'J Jhe day was not ideal for the greatd'pageant of scarlet and.;vggld, but the grey c.ouds W’ere not enough to wonderful spectacle. '-‘Tlie King \(M|’there in person to take the salute. ■^i^fefoi l :. the King’s arrival a crowd of many thousands watched the march-

ing and counter-marching as the Guards manoeuvred into, 'their allotted positions to t.Je accompaniment of nuisic provided by the bands of the brigade. On the Downing strept side, immediately. in front of the- Kitchener statue, were two troops of the Royal Horse Guard's with band. Dressed ini tunics of blue doth trimmed with scarleit—a contrast to their white leather pantaloons—and with silver cuirass and red-plumed silver helmet, and mount-d on. black horses, they made an imposing spectacle. • ■ ' Immediately to their left was a bk c k of scarlet and gold—the five bands of the Guards’ Brigade. The gentlySweeping tartatls of the pipers of the /.Scot’s' guards and emerald given tam-o’shantsv caps and saffron u’.d green dress of the pipers of the D‘S*i Guards blended softly with tbo b r ‘ghtar colours of the majority of the

musicians; On the other sides of the square were the Foot Guards —long, straight lines of immovable soldiers. T’hfe ritual centred in tile Colour of the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards Which wag to be ‘‘trooped.’’ It was held ritoft in an isolated position in the- square, while two sentries—one on each sir?!'?, of it—paced briskly to and fro. This was the only movement now permitted. The King, wearing the unif non <•! the regiment whose colour yas to be troopl-d, rode on to the ground from the Mall. ’Behind bini, si da by side, rode file Prince of Wales, Colonel of

the Welsh Guards, and the Duke of

York, in the uniform of the Royal Air Force in which he has just been g'-'/ettad • -Air ‘Yice Mar s Jnl. Four abreast followed ; the Duke of Gloucester and tlie, Earl of Athlone, each in the

uniform of his regiment of Hussars, Prince Arthur of Con naught, in that of the -Scots Greys, and the Earl of Harewood, in that of the Grenadier GuimK Sa’uting the Queen as he passed beneath her window, his Majesty wheeled bis

charger to face the parade. A thousand i m-ifles w'ere-’ raised and lowered as one in’» Royal Salute, the National Anthem \yns played as only th© masked bands of tlie Guards can play it, nnd then the King proceeded to inspect the line. A cavalcade of officer fo'lowel. including the Military Attaches of

'foreign Powers. The full dress uniforms of the latter- moving among the scarlet and black of the Guards made a striking kaleidoscope of colour. Other conspicuous figures were the two Indian orderly .officer 5 , whose cayalry tunics were, respectively of Oxford and Cambridge blue. [-: Tlie time-honoured ritual was as attractive as ever. The bands i.itiche’d and countermarched across the ground. The escort for the Colour moved cut to the strains of “The British Grenadiers,” and the Colour was handed over to the Ensign by the Regimeita, ■Sergeant-Major—his sword, for once, drawn and at the, “carry.” At this mo-, merit more than any other the Colour is the centre of the ceremony. Every eye is turned toward© it a s th'e young ensign ■raises it aloft and marches in slow time before the two ranks. Then the bands form up in the centre of the parade. The .troops march past, first in slow time and then at a quickstep, led by the Blues. The spectators have an opportunity of • seeing at closer quarter© wlmt manner of men are there guardsmen whom' they have seen hitherto as mere pieces in a mysterious moving I

jig-saw puzzle. AN UNREHEARSED INCIDENT.

An unrehearsed incident of tile ceremony was caused by the temper of the horse ridden by the Duke of Gloucester. Even 'when he was riding down from the Palace his charger was guilty of some rea'jly amazing buck-jumping and the. Duke proved his good horsemanship by keeping his seat. The Duke had obtained the horse for the occasion from the Household Cavalry stables, and the troubles arose apparently from the fact that the saddlery included a crupper, to which the horse was not acoustomed. From the beginning of the ceremony the animal displayed his di■'comfort, and when the Duke returned from the inspection of the line by the Iving, he withdrew into the Horse Guards and had (he crupper adjusted. This, however, did not mend matters, .and when the Duke returned to ids position at the .saluting nus ( > the horse fidgeted and then kicked viciously, to the dang'T'of

other riders. Mr VVliitwelil, the King’s stud groom, sprang to the auim'a'.’s head and rjuiotekied him for the moment. Bid : t was obvious tint the horse’s norvout ness was becoming uncontrollable,- and the Duke again withdrew from the parade.

The King heard the slight di-turb-(-nec among the ioompany behind him. and asked the Prince of Wales to investigate. The Prince left the parade, but in a. f«-v minutes returned and assured his Majesty that no harm had been du>’-e.

When the Duke returned on another horse he also explained to, the King the cause of his absence.