An iconic and extremely popular British tourist destination is to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.
Trust me on that, I have been there along with every other tourist in London.
At 10:28am every day a fresh set of the Queen's Life Guards (mounted guards) leave Hyde Park Barracks and follow their route along Hyde Park, down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace along The Mall and enter Horse Guards Parade.
Waiting for them at the Parade are the Horse Guards currently on duty.
The best and exciting part is - they are inside a small ring and you can stand right up at the chain.
I was lucky when I was there because a local off-duty tour guide whispered a tip to me....
He told me once the trumpeting, huffing, puffing and strutting in the ring dies down, to leave the ring and enter back through the arches and wait across from the green stable doors.
He positioned me in the exact spot to wait so no one could be in my way.
While waiting he also told me an interesting tidbit of trivia.
Okay, so they are horses' butts, but, you have to admit, a great shot of horse's butts!
In 1894 Queen Victoria wandered down from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade at 4:00pm, as you do. Well, she found the guards drunk and gambling! She was furious, needless to say. She decreed that to ensure they weren't drunk ever again, they were to be inspected everyday at 4:00pm, for the next 100 years, !
But a not-so-well-known location to watch the changing of the guards is at Horse Guards Parade.
Waiting for them at the Parade are the Horse Guards currently on duty.
At Eleven Bells the ceremonial change begins.
You are so close, you can s-m-e-l-l the horses!
I was lucky when I was there because a local off-duty tour guide whispered a tip to me....
He positioned me in the exact spot to wait so no one could be in my way.
On the clock at Horse Guards Parade facing Whitehall is a black circle on the number "2".
This is in recognition that at 2:00pm on January 30th, 1649 King Charles I was beheaded for treason. The country then became a Republic, until Charles II was invited back to England to become the King in 1660.
Anyway, back to the changing of the Guards.
In my perfectly positioned spot, I could see the Horses Guard change sentry shift on Whitehall St. Not one single person could get in my way and I got the perfect shot!
As another aside, at 4:00pm there is also a Dismounting Ceremony at Horses Guard Parade.
You are probably asking why they need another ceremony again at 4:00pm.
Well, funny you should ask....
I just happen to know the answer to that too!
One hundred years later, in 1994, Queen Elizabeth II decided to continue the tradition, so today we can still see the inspection at 4:00pm.
I haven't been, yet, to find out the perfect position to stand with camera in hand.
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