The clouds parted for the final night of London’s Military Musical Spectacular, and the sky was filled with celebratory gun smoke and stars for a special performance in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen, on this the 60th anniversary year of the Coronation.
The floodlit evening of British pageantry, which involved more than 500 soldiers and horses, took place in the historic setting of Horse Guards Parade, off Whitehall. World Class musicians from the Army’s Household Division, who take part in the capital’s state and ceremonial occasions, staged a virtuoso performance of music to suit every taste, as well as the complex military ceremonial displays for which they are renowned.
The capacity audience enjoyed the Musical Ride of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, State Trumpeters, the Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry, the Corps of Drums, the Pipes and Drums and the Massed Bands of the five regiments of Foot Guards, as well as the world’s fastest marching band at 140 paces to the minute, the Bands and Bugles of the Rifles.
The event incorporated the centuries-old custom of Beating Retreat, when a drummer would beat a signal in the evening to call patrols back to their base for the night.
Images by Sergeant Adrian Harlen
