Ceremonies and Traditions that Reflect the Rich Heritage of London

London has a long-standing history that is full of traditions and ceremonies that have stood the test of time and are alive and ticking just as they were over the years. London’s castles, palaces, parks and courtyards all bear testimony to these spectacular rituals that take place to this date such as the annual parades, Trooping the Colour, State Opening of Parliament and so on. The overwhelming reaction to these ceremonies demonstrates the love that Londoners have for pomp and ceremony even in this jet age. Some of the city’s rituals are being described below.

This daily ceremony is a highly popular spectacle that is a must-see for tourists. It takes place daily during the summer (April to July) and on alternate days for the rest of the months at different royal locations in and around London. You don’t need to buy a ticket for watching this ceremony. It takes place at Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle, and Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall. The ceremony at Buckingham Palace takes place inside the railings of its Forecourt. A colourful display is provided by Foot Guards in their red tunics and bearskins along with a band that plays throughout. It is a 45-minute ceremony during which the New Guard replaces the Old Guard with a detachment staying back at Buckingham Palace with the remaining New Guard marching on to St James’s Palace. Since it is a very popular event, it is necessary to reach early to be able to get a vantage point near the railings of the Victoria Memorial to be able to see it clearly.

This ceremony takes place for celebrating the official birthday of the Queen in the month of June, although her actual birthday is 21st April. The ceremony takes place when the Queen leaves Buckingham Palace to go to Horse Guard Parade. A gun salute is fired from Green Park to mark this occasion. At the Horse Guards Parade, the Queen receives the royal salute and inspects the troops. After the massed bands’ performance, the ‘Colour’ is carried down the ranks and the troops are led by the Queen to Buckingham Palace. At 1pm, the Queen appears on the balcony of the palace to watch the RAF fly past, accompanied by a gun salute at the Tower of London.

    

The actual birthday of the Queen, 21st April, is celebrated privately by the Queen but gun salutes take place in London to mark it publicly. A 41-gun salute takes place in Hyde Park, a 21-gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62-gun salute at The Tower of London, all of them taking place at midday.

Visitors to London should stay at Grand Royale London Hyde Park as they can simply walk down to Hyde Park to see the ceremony.

This ceremony to mark the start of the parliamentary year dates back to Medieval London and it takes place in May although it used to be in October or November prior to 2012. The ceremony involves peers and bishops in traditional robes and a royal procession involving the Royal Coach. The cellars of the Houses of Parliament are at first searched by the Yeomen of the Guard before the arrival of the Queen. The ceremony takes place in the House of Lords and it is televised. It starts with the Black Rod (the Queen’s Messenger) calling 250 members of the House of Commons to the House of Lords. The Queen reads her speech, prepared by the government of the day and outlining the forthcoming policies for the year, from the Throne of the House of Lords. After the Queen returns to Buckingham Palace, the Royal procession starts from the palace at 11am, follows the Mall to Horse Guards Parade and Whitehall and then to Parliament Square. A gun salute is fired from Hyde Park at 11:15am. Visitors can get a good view from St James’s Park.

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This annual show is 800 years old with the parade involving over 6,000 people, bands, more than 140 decorated floats, costumed performers and a gilded State Coach for the Lord Mayor to travel in. River barges are piled high with explosives and set adrift on the Thames. The fireworks start somewhere between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridges and the best place to view them is around the Embankment and Gabriel’s Wharf. The ceremony involves the Lord Mayor swearing an oath of loyalty to the Queen in the presence of the Lord Chief Justice after the parade, which runs from Guildhall to the Royal Courts of Justice, is over. The procession leaves Guildhall for Mansion House and then it travels via St Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Courts of Justice and Victoria Embankment before returning to Mansion House. The fireworks on the Thames take place at 5pm.

This is a 700-year old ceremony for locking the Tower of London every night by the Chief Yeoman Warder, who dressed in Tudor uniform goes to the gates from Byward Tower to meet the Escort of the Key who is dressed in the familiar Beefeater uniform. They visit the various gates and lock them ceremonially before they are challenged by a sentry at the Bloody Tower archway. Once they give a satisfactory reply and the sentry is convinced, and all the Tower gates are locked, the Last Post is sounded and the ceremony is over. 

The Queen gives Maundy money to a group of pensioners from one diocese each year on Maundy Thursday which is the day before Good Friday. Although the ceremony used to take place at Westminster Abbey in the early 20th century, it now takes place in a different church each year. The pensioners are given two purses by the Queen – one white purse having Maundy coins and one red purse containing £5.50.