TROOPING THE COLOR

TROOPING THE COLOR

Twelve hundred immaculately turned out soldiers paraded for their Colonel-in-Chief, Her Majesty the Queen, to mark her official birthday.

The Queen inspected her troops in an open carriage despite the threat of rain. The ceremony has spanned nearly two centuries.

The manoeuvres were rehearsed relentlessly for three months beforehand to ensure absolute military precision. The bearskins, made from specially selected Canadian black bear fur, were brought out of storage just for the occasion.

Britain's most famous regiments took part in the parade; the central role of honour went to the Prince of Wales' Company, First Battalion Welsh Guards, trooping its Queen's colour.

" Erm... I then release the colour from the colour belt. I pick it up and slowly bring it round to my side, keeping it horizontal and ensuring that the colour doesn't touch the floor, and then bring it round in front of me and pull it in. It's quite a tense moment, because it's quite a weight on one side of my arm. "

The day began for the Welsh Guards with an early morning workout. This is a tradition before Trooping the Colour, but this year they were helped out by former Miss Great Britain. In contrast, they put on an extremely serious performance for the Queen. It was a day for the Welsh Guards and their families to be proud.

" He's just worked exceptionally hard for it and I know all the Welsh Guards have given it their absolute all and they've all worked as hard as they possibly can. "

Every year the ceremony's slightly altered and for the first time the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery were included in the parade.

Later, the Royal Family joined the Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a " fly-past", celebrating the Sovereign's official birthday.

Alison Jack, Sky News