THE

usual sniggers as a couple of guardsmen fainted during a sweltering Trooping the Colour. Their scarlet tunics are made of multiple layers of felt, originally intended as an early form of body armour designed to ‘turn’ a musket ball. Add on unfeasibly big hats made from Canadian bear pelts and it’s testament to the Guards’ toughness that their casualties aren’t higher than at Waterloo, where they earned the right to wear those bearskins.