Buckingham Palace., London

No trip to London is complete without visiting Buckingham Palace, the ultra-luxurious residence of the British monarchy. Even for those who live in the UK, it's worth visiting this awe-inspiring palace at least once - if only to see for yourself what it really looks like to live in the lap of luxury!

While many compare Buckingham Palace to similar palaces in Paris and Istanbul, it really is unique in its own right, both architecturally and in terms of its distinct British history. From its vast meeting halls and foyers, replete with chandeliers and expansive mirrors, to its perfectly manicured gardens, Buckingham Palace really is the cream of the crop when it comes to London sightseeing!

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Buckingham Palace is one of the most beautiful architectural works of the world. If you are travelling to London, don't miss these master piece. You can watch the change of royal guards behind the fence which takes place at 11:00. Visit to the royal mews will cost you some pounds. I took an online pass which includes entrance to the royal mews and the Tower of London, and that costs 16 pounds.

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The guard duties are normally provided by a battalion of the Household Division and occasionally by other infantry battalions or other units.
As you might know the Household Division is made up of seven Regiments:
The Household Cavalry Regiment.
The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals; they wear a metal helmet.
The five regiments of foot: Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards and Welsh Guards. They wear the bearskin cap.

To know who is on guard on the day of your visit, look at the following website www.changing-the-guard.com , at "Schedule" where you will find what battalion is on guard on a specific day.
If you want to see the scarlet tunics and bearskin caps choice a foot guard regiment. During my visit in July there was an alternation between the Irish Guards and the Blues and Royals. I choose the day with the Irish Guards with the band of the Grenadier Guards.
The Irish Guards wear a bleu plume on their bearskin cap.

October Confirmed Schedule
2nd,4th,6th,8th,10th,12th,14th,16th,18th,20th,22nd,24th,26th,28th,30th
Coldstream Guards, 63 Squadron RAF Regt and Scots Guards alternate.

November Provisional Schedule
1st,3rd,5th,7th,9th,11th,13th,15th,17th,19th,21st,23rd,25th,27th,29th

December Provisional Schedule
1st,3rd,5th,7th,9th,11th,13th,15th,17th,19th,21st,23rd,26th,28th,30th

There is no Guard Mounting in very wet weather.

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You can see the Change of Guards at Buckingham Palace through the railings, surrounded and pushed by a huge crowd. Not really comfortable!
You can also go on the left of Buckingham Palace to the Wellington Barracks on Birdcage Walk where the New Guard is formed starting at 10.45 am.

On the left side of the parade ground of Wellington Barracks, the new guard, thirty men plus the lance corporals and sergeants, are facing the public standing behind the railing. Not so crowded here. One can see the details and take photos under good conditions.
On the right side stands in circle the band of the Guards with about thirty musicians.
They play during the inspection of the guardsmen.
It is a colourful parade with the scarlet tunics, bearskin caps, the brass of the music instruments and the typical British drill and shouting orders.
The easiest way to recognize the various Guard regiments is by their plume on the bearskin cap: white for the Grenadiers, red for the Coldstream, blue for the Irish (Prince William is colonel of the Irish Guards since 10 Feb. 2011), white and green for the Welsh and no plume for the Scots.

The new guard is formed in two sections; the regimental flag is handed to the youngest officer of the Guard.
At 11.30 am the band and the new guard leave the Wellington Barracks by the gate on the right. They march toward Queens Victoria Monument and Buckingham Palace. From here on the crowd is getting quite important.

After the ceremony it is also interesting to stay at the Wellington Barracks to see the "old guard" coming back from the Palace, but I did not stay for this part.

October Confirmed Schedule
2nd,4th,6th,8th,10th,12th,14th,16th,18th,20th,22nd,24th,26th,28th,30th

November Provisional Schedule
1st,3rd,5th,7th,9th,11th,13th,15th,17th,19th,21st,23rd,25th,27th,29th

December Provisional Schedule
1st,3rd,5th,7th,9th,11th,13th,15th,17th,19th,21st,23rd,26th,28th,30th

There is no Guard Mounting in very wet weather.

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Our walk through the Royal mews was really interesting. It is essentially the stables, but you'll also get a chance to see many of the Royal carriages and a couple vehicles - we were even lucky enough to see a couple horses.

The Brits are all about pomp and pageantry and you'll get a taste of it here. Great way to go out for a Sunday ride.

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Buckingham Palace is another one of those must see locations when visiting London. As home to the royal family, the palace is actually the residence of the Queen. Tours are available, but not when the family is in residence.

We were lucky enough to have tickets to tour the Palace, the Royal Mews and visit the Queen's Gallery plus see the exhibit from the Royal wedding which included Kate's dress (beautiful), her earrings (lovely), and also see the wedding cake. The staterooms are very tastefully decorated - ornate, but not over the top. The artwork in the gallery were exquisite, and I'm sure that there are many more pieces that were not on display.

Exiting through the rear of the palace we had a chance to walk through the gardens on the way out. Spacious, lush and beautiful.

If you can get there, do try to visit the palace. It was interesting and beautiful.

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At 10.45 am starts on the parade ground of Wellington Barracks the formation of the new guard and the inspection of the Guardsmen.
This was done by a little man; as he wore a normal cap, not a bearskin cap, he looked smaller than the Irish Guards. He was dressed with a dark blue coat, had a sword and spurs at his boots. So that he looked quite different from any guardsmen on the parade ground but he clearly was the chief inspector of all the parade.
During more than half an hour he inspected each button on the scarlet tunics, checked if the white belts were fitted tightly, if the shoes were clean, the correct position of the riffle at the shoulder. He inspected all ranks: guardsmen, sergeants and even the two officers. A sergeant major was following him writing his remarks on a notebook!

Among the tourists standing behind the railing of Wellington barracks a number has been in the army like me; we all had the same thought, how could he find defects on Guardsmen who are an example of military perfection?

At the end of the parade I asked a guardsman at the entry of the barracks who was that man. I was answered the "adjutant" what surprised me because this rank, highest of NCOs, is used in France or Belgium but not to my knowledge in the UK where the equivalent is "Warrant Officer". So I will have to return to learn who was that perfectionist inspecting the mounting Irish Guards.

After some search on the web I found that Guards Battalions have officers called "adjutants". The one which intrigued me was a Captain, Adjutant 1st Battalion Irish Guards.
There is also a Colonel, Regimental Adjutant and, last but not least, Prince William is the Irish Guards' first royal colonel (since Feb. 2011) and its Colonel-in-Chief is the Queen.

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Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.

Getting to Buckingham Palace involves walking through Green Park or from St. James Parks Station.

On the day, it rained on-and-off and because there aren't any shelter along the way, we had to sort refuge under a big tree with an umbrella. The sky cleared and we were able to carry on. It may be a good thing though as the queue and number of visitors disappeared during the rain and after the rain, the visitors number hasn't build up yet.