- Where?
- Horse Guards, Whitehall, Westminster
- When?
- 15th June 2024
- Parade starts at 10 AM and ends at 12:25 PM
- The balcony appearance takes place at 1 PM
- The flypast will be visible over central London between 12.40 PM and 1.15 PM, and will pass over Buckingham Palace at 1 PM
- Price?
- Free to watch if you stand on The Mall, but try to arrive 1-2 hours early (minimum) if you want a decent view
- Tickets for the stands in Horse Guards are allocated by ballot and applications have to made from January · See kbp.army.mod.uk for details
- Note: There's a dress code for sitting in the stands: morning dress, lounge dress, lounge suit or jacket and trousers for the men, and equivalent for the ladies. Denim is not allowed. Military personnel are permitted to wear ceremonial day or another service equivalent -- but check your tickets for the exact instructions
- Parking:
- Nearby car parks
- Buses:
- 3, 11, 12, 24, 53, 87, 88, 159
- Bus fares
- Trains:
- The closest station is Westminster Circle District Jubilee
- Other nearby stations: Charing Cross and Embankment
- Train fares
The parade dates back to the 17th century and celebrates the official birthday of the British monarch (King Charles' actual birthday is on the 14th November).
If you want to go for a seat in Horse Guards then you'll have to plan it five months in advance. You need to enter a random ballot at the beginning of the year and if you're lucky they'll send you your tickets (and a bill) in the post -- check their website for details.
If you don't manage to get a ticket for Horse Guards then the event begins at 10 AM with a parade up the Mall, and you need to get there a couple of hours early if you want a decent spot. There are lots of good places to stand but we recommend depositing yourself on the bend before Admiralty Arch as it curves round towards the parade ground... that way you'll get a great view of the soldiers marching down the Mall whilst still being able to hear all the military music playing on Horse Guards.
Lots of people will choose to stand as close as possible to Buckingham Palace so they can get a good view of the Royal Family when they come out on the balcony, but you if you do that then make sure you stand at the top end of the Mall, and not on the actual roundabout by the Queen Victoria Memorial. That's because the police usually release all the people standing on the Mall first, before they release the ones on the roundabout, meaning they will be able to fill up the space in front of the palace before you.
One advantage of standing as close as possible to the palace is that you'll get to see the King inspecting the troops as they pass in front of the main gate -- you won't be able to see that from the Mall.
King Charles will then disappear inside the palace and re-appear on the balcony with Queen Camilla at 1 PM, before being joined by other members of the Royal Family to watch the RAF flypast and the Red Arrows trailing red, white and blue smoke.
Note: If you don't fancy the huge crowds, or you're taking little kids with you, then you might prefer to attend the two rehearsals instead. The first one is called the Major General's Review and is held two weeks earlier. That is followed by the Colonel's Review one week later.
Your comments and questions
lew How do you get tickets for trooping the colour
Staff Hi Lew. It's all done by ballot. You usually have to apply in either January or February, and if you're successful you'll then have to pay some money to get the ticket. See kbp.army.mod.uk/ for more details
Chris I am trying to find the link to apply for the ballott
Staff Hi Chris. It's the link shown in the 'Tickets?' section (in the grey box, above right) but they're only offering them between 17th January and 7th March this year
Naz Hi Craig - I am going tomorrow....whats your opinion the best place to see and have a picnic? St James Park?
Staff Hi Naz. If you're attending the parade then normally I'd say somewhere around the top end of the Mall, on the bend before the Queen Victoria Memorial, but this year is going to be extra busy because of the Platinum Jubilee and maybe all the best places will be taken by people camping overnight. If you're just going for a picnic then St James's Park is definitely better, but given that there are going to be tens of thousands of people lining the Mall and down around Horse Guards the park will probably be packed like sardines. You won't be able to see the parade over the crowd but you'll hear all the music and watch the flypast roar over your head at 1 PM. If you want more space then try Hyde Park. There's a gun salute in Hyde Park at 12 PM, and you should still be able to see the flypast going over.