The Trooping of the Colour

Except on very special occasions, such as a Jubilee, a Royal funeral, or a "Welcome Home" from war, military spectacles in London in 1900 were few and far between.

There was, however, one such, though on a small scale, that was religiously observed every year - the Trooping of the Colour on the Horse Guards' Parade, followed by the Massing of the Bands at St. James' Palace.

They were attractive sights, and were the culmination of fashionable militarism in London.

It is uncertain when the Trooping of the Colour in honour of the Sovereign's birthday began, but it probably originated with George I, who delighted in watching his grandson, the Duke of Cumberland, drill a regiment of boys on the Horse Guards' Parade-ground, a locality associated with martial displays ever since the Restoration of 1660.

The Colour was "trooped" with many stately and time-honoured details, too numerous to mention here, and after a march past the Royal spectators, the line of troops was reformed, a Royal salute was given, and the "trooping" closed; when the united bands of music marched off to Friary Court, St. James' Palace, and there discoursed sweet sounds for some time until the guns in the Park boomed forth a Royal salute, and "God save the King" wound up the pleasant function.

There was also an annual and very interesting Trooping of the Colour, usually in June, on the ground of the Hon. Artillery Company at Finsbury.

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