Rain plays spoilsport to ‘Jai Ho’ at Queen’s palace
Heavy downpour on Monday washed out the planned ‘Changing of the Guard’ ceremony to A.R. Rahman’s Jai Ho music here to mark the launch of the UK-India Year of Culture 2017.
The Band of the Grenadier Guards were due to play Indian themed music during the traditional ceremony to mark the start of the event. The ‘Changing of the Guard’ ceremony could not take place at the Palace and instead the band was moved to the Guards’ Chapel at Wellington Barracks nearby to perform the music about an hour later.
“It is like the monsoon today. We moved the band to the chapel especially for this occasion,” said an official, after it was confirmed that the Palace guards will be moving to what is referred to as a ‘Wet Mount’.
The Wet Mount takes place in the event that the
ceremonial elements of the ‘Changing of the Guard’ have to be cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, on average about twice a year.
“The important thing is that the music part of the ceremony could go ahead,” a spokesperson said.
The band played a string of Bollywood tunes, including Aaj ki raat from Don and some Bhangra beats, ending on a grand crescendo of Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.
The Buckingham Palace is set for a historic taste of Indian flavours later as Queen Elizabeth II hosts the launch of the UK-India Year of Culture. The 90year-old monarch will be joined by husband Duke of Edinburgh, grandson Prince William and his wife Kate as they host a first-ever reception to celebrate UK-India cultural ties.