Queen may put car before the carriage in break with Trooping the Colour tradition
THE Queen could travel to Trooping the Colour in a Range Rover instead of a royal carriage for the first time in her 70-year reign under contingency plans being drawn up by officials.
The 96-year-old monarch may end up making the journey from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade by 4x4 – with a full Sovereign’s Escort of Household Cavalry.
It is one of several “Plan Bs” under consideration for the Platinum Jubilee weekend after palace sources suggested Her Majesty’s attendance at events marking her milestone will not be confirmed until the day in question.
Last night, Buckingham Palace distanced itself from speculation that the Queen will not appear on a dais to inspect the troops – but instead watch her official birthday parade from the Major-general’s office, also known as “Wellington’s office”, which overlooks the parade ground.
Pointing out that the Queen sat on a dais for last year’s ceremony of pomp and pageantry at Windsor Castle, a royal insider said: “I cannot imagine in 100 years that if attending, HM wouldn’t be seated on a dais in Horse Guards Parade. All the plans are fluid at the moment and nothing has been finalised.”
The Household Cavalry is understood to have been briefed on some of the different options in light of the Queen’s recent mobility problems.
She has been forced to cancel a string of engagements since pulling out of the Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph last November after straining her back.
In February, she met Maj Gen Eldon Millar, the Defence Services Secretary, and his predecessor Rear-adml James Macleod at Windsor Castle and joked as she shuffled towards them carrying a walking stick: “Well, as you can see, I can’t move.”
The “Range Rover plan” would see four mounted divisions escort the Queen’s car up The Mall to the event on June 2, while other members of the Royal family would stick to the tradition of travelling there by carriage.
As the “Royal Colonels”, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal are expected to take part in the ceremony on horseback.
A well-placed source told The Daily Telegraph: “The Range Rover plan is a departure but it is not unprecedented for the Queen to have an escort of mounted troops when she is travelling by car. It has happened in the past on foreign visits.
“The reason for the change is both speed and comfort. It is no longer comfortable for the Queen to travel by carriage or to be standing on a dais for an extended period.
“After the Derby, of all things she’s doing over the Platinum Jubilee weekend, she’s most looking forward to this.
“The Queen always takes a close personal interest in the parade, which is essentially her guards’ birthday present to her, and this year will be no different. HM has been known to be able to spot an upside down button at 100 paces in the past.” The Queen’s aides have spent weeks working on the plan with HQ London District, the Army base responsible for all London’s ceremonial events.
While the final arrangements for the extended bank holiday weekend are still being finalised, it is understood the Duke of Cambridge will be taking the lead on military events by reviewing Trooping the Colour in a formal inspection the week before the parade.
It is not yet known whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be attending any of the festivities amid an ongoing row over their security in the UK.
The Duke of Sussex is suing the Home Office after being stripped of his taxpayer-funded Met Police protection, claiming it is no longer safe for his family to visit Britain without them.
The couple have reportedly received reassurance that they will be protected by a Special Escort Group detail if they attend with their son Archie, two, and 10-month-old daughter Lilibet, whom the Queen has not met. It comes after they paid a private visit to Her Majesty at Windsor Castle on April 14 en route to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands.
Trooping the Colour has marked the sovereign’s official birthday since 1748 and recreates the march of a regiment’s colours, or flags, on the battlefield.