Chasing the guards: One of the two mounted regiments known as the Queen’s Life Guards. They wear metal helmets, white plumes and red tunics.
It was by pure accident that we have learned about the schedule of Changing The Guard that day. (It was December 3rd.) We saw a bunch of people running across Green Park towards the gate near Buckingham Palace. Hundreds of eager spectators swarmed across the palace gates to witness this particular scenario.
Another group of the mounted regiment.
The Changing the Guard ceremony is probably one of the oldest and best attractions London has to offer. It normally starts at 11am during weekdays and 10am on Sundays. Schedule also varies during summer and winter and state/parliamentary occasions.
People and tourists came running to see the colorful parade.
This colorful army tradition dates back to the late 14th century, during the reign of Henry VII. They were known then as Household Troops who guard the Sovereign (the reigning British king or queen). The Household Division is composed of seven regiments: two Mounted Regiments known as The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals and five Regiments of Foot Guards – the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards and the Welsh Guards.
Mounted police officer took charge of the traffic in front of the palace gates.
More than just ceremonial guards, they are also highly-skilled professional soldiers who are on active military service to the British crown and have engaged in many of the world’s fiercest battles.
From Waterloo Station, we took the Jubilee Line (underground train) to Westminster station and it took us less than 5 minutes to get there. But if you add up the minutes we had spent climbing up and down the escalators and finding our way through the underground maze, it would total to about 30 minutes. We emerged from that hole at half past 2PM and were surprised to find the London Eye on the other side of Thames. We could have just crossed the bridge by foot to get to the Clock Tower and saved ourselves time to catch our breaths.
The Big Ben Clock
The Clock Tower is part of the design structure of the Palace of Westminster Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin made after a fire destroyed the palace in 1834. It is located at the northeastern part of the palace. The Clock Tower started its operations in 1859.
A lot of people refer to the Clock Tower as Big Ben. Officially, the nickname Big Ben was given to its 16-ton hour bell, the biggest among the tower’s 4 quarter bells. There are unconfirmed legends that surround the naming of Clock Tower’s hour bell.
Today, the Clock Tower is considered the world’s largest four-faced chiming clock and has become a center of New Year celebrations and a major tourist destination in the United Kingdom.
The gray skies threatened rain. While my cousin and I were busy wolfing down a giant Burger King at the gates of St. Thomas Hospital, my attention shifted to what seemed to me a majestic island on the River Thames. The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament.
This architectural masterpiece can be found across the River Thames, just a few meters away from The London Eye. For a long time, the Palace of Westminster serves as the main base of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom – the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The Palace of Westminster was built on the same spot they used to call Thorney Island during the medieval times. It became a seat of power to numerous monarchs who ruled England. When St. Edward the Confessor, a Saxon monarch, came to power and started building the Westminster Abbey, Thorney Island was renamed as “Westminster “ (from the words “West Monastery”).
In 1834, the Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire. A few years later, the Royal Commission appointed Sir Charles Barry to rebuild the palace using his proposed gothic architectural design. He incorporated in his design several towers – Victoria Tower, St. Stephen’s Tower and the Clock Tower.
Visitors have limited access to the area due to security reasons. But one can have a glimpse of the palace’s interiors during parliamentary debates regularly aired on BBC. The last time I saw it was during a lengthy heated debate over the missing CD file of British children’s trust fund last November that placed Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a hot seat.
