King presents new Colours to Coldstream Guards ahead of Trooping the Colour
The King has presented new Colours to the Coldstream Guards during a ceremony at Windsor Castle, marking the regiment’s 375th anniversary.
Troops from the 1st and 2nd Battalions paraded this morning before the King’s official birthday celebrations in London this weekend.
The soldiers marched from Victoria Barracks through Windsor town centre, accompanied by the Band of the Coldstream Guards, before entering the castle. The old Colours were formally marched off to the sound of Auld Lang Syne.
Around 1,000 guests watched the event in the roasting sun inside the Quadrangle, with around another 100 members of the public gathered outside the castle gates trying to catch a glimpse.
A traditional drumhead service followed, with regimental drums stacked to form a makeshift altar. The new Colours were laid on top and consecrated by the Chaplain-General.
The King, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment, touched each Colour before formally presenting them to the Guards. “It gives me enormous pride, as your Colonel-in-Chief, to be able to present these new Colours to you today in the presence of the wider Regimental family,” he said. Each and every one of you on parade today is now part of that great legacy.”
