Buckingham Palace 'Changing the Guard' ceremony returns

The "Changing the Guard" ceremony at the Buckingham Palace in London is back again after an 18-month absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

British soldiers in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats paraded outside Queen Elizabeth's palace. The colourful ceremony sees The Queen's Guard handing over responsibility for protecting Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace to the New Guard.

The colourful tourist spectacle was stopped in March 2020 as Britain went into lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Soldiers maintained sentry duty outside royal residences during the pandemic, but the ceremonial changeover was not held.

The ceremony resumed this Monday. Spectators waved and took pictures as soldiers from the Coldstream Guards marched to the tunes of “Chariots of Fire” and Spandau Ballet's “Gold.”

The queen, however, was not at the palace to witness it as she is on her traditional summer vacation at her Scottish home, Balmoral.