Trooping the Colour
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Trooping the Colour
The ceremony of Trooping the Colour is now a well established and popular event. Yet few people realise the significance which lies behind the stately drill.
In the very earliest days, colours were used as rallying points in battle. Each leader had his own device around which his followers assembled, and it eventually became the custom for each company to have its own distinguishing flag. These were gradually eliminated in favour of battalion colours, though their purpose of marking a rallying point remained unaltered.
From about 1700, the colours were carried down the ranks at the end of a day's march and escorted to the billet in which they were to be lodged.
The object of the ceremony was to ensure that each man was acquainted with the device of his own unit and on arrival at the lodging, the colours were normally hung from a doorway or window to mark the battalion headquarters.
As a result, the colours gradually came to represent the spirit of the regiment.
The parade was then known as `Lodging the Colours' and all colours of the regiment were 'trooped'. Today the honour is reserved only for the Queen's Colour, and it was in 1805 that the custom of Trooping the Colour to honour the Sovereign's birthday was initiated.
Thus, what is today a major Royal ceremonial occasion, had direct historical associations with the daily duties of Britain's first disciplined armies.
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