Daily Event:

Buckingham Palace
The Queen's Guard is changed at 1130 usually every other day.

Horse Guards, Whitehall
1100 weekdays, 1000 Sundays, The Queen's Life Guard is changed daily throughout the year.

Tower of London
Talk about precise! At 21:53 every night the Chief Warder of the Yeomen Warders of the Tower of London locks the outer gates of the Tower and delivers the keys to the Resident Governor at Queen's House. Attendance is limited, so apply in writing well ahead to the Resident Governor.

Annual Ceremonies

The Queen's Birthday Parade - 2nd week June
Horse Guards Parade. SW1.
The Trooping the Colour ceremony is one of England's most famous ceremonies, and is as traditional as the Changing of the Guards. This colourful ceremony is accompanied by an annual parade of music and pageantry in celebration of the Queens Birthday.

Queen's Official Birthday Gun Salute - June 16
To mark The Queen's official birthday the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery Fires a 41-gun salute in Green Park and the Honourable Artillery Company fires a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London also honouring the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Knollys Red Rose Rent - June 24
Every year on the Feast of John the Baptist, since 1381, one red rose is plucked from Seething lane and presented to the Lord Mayor on the altar of All Hallows by the Tower. The Rent of One rose is paid in recognition of Sir Robert Knollys who built an unauthorized footbridge across Seething Lane.

Swan Upping - last Monday in July
Since Medieval times both the Dyres and Vintner's Livery Companies, as well as the crown, have the right to keep swans on the Thames River. Every year 6 wooden Skiffs pass along the Thames River, through Marlow Lock, to mark the cygnets, or baby swans.

Doggett's Coat and Badge Race - late July or early August
Possibly the oldest rowing race in the world, this event was begun by Irish actor Thomas Dogett in 1715 to mark the crowning of George I. Six water boatmen race against the tide from London Bridge to Albert Bridge. The prize is a scarlet livery with a large silver badge.

Election of the Lord Mayor - September 29
Every year since 1546 a new Lord Mayor is selected at the annual Meeting of the city Counsel in The Guildhall.

Quit-Rents Ceremony - late October
The City Solicitor pays the Queen's Remembrance token rents for properties long ago leased - two faggots of wood, a billhook, and a hatchet pays for land in Shropshire, and sixty-one nails and six horseshoes for a long-gone forge in the Strand. The origins of this ceremony go back so far they have been forgotten

Trafalgar Parade and Service - October 21 (or nearest Sunday)
In honour of Nelsons victor at Trafalgar in 1805, wreaths are laid at the foot of Nelson's Column in the Square.

RAC Veteran Car Run - 1st Sunday in November
In the very early years of the motorcar, a man with a red flag had to walk in front of all cars. This event, also known as the London to Brighton Rally and only open to cars built between 1895 and 1904, commemorates the repeal of the "Red Flag Laws" in 1905.

The Lord Mayor's Show - Second Saturday in November
In a colourful procession nearly 800 years old, the Lord Mayor must make his way to the Royal courts of justice to pledge his allegiance to the crown. With more than 3 million spectators each year, this event was the first to be broadcast on live TV.

Installation of the Lord Mayor - November 8
Luncheon at Mansion House with the old and new Lord Mayors and representatives of the livery Companies, followed by a procession to the Guildhall for the official transfer of office.

Festival of St. Cecilia - Last Sunday of the Liturgical year
Coinciding with the feast of Christ the King, St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, is remembered with organ and choral music at St Sepulchres (Holborn).

Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree - Mid December
Every Christmas the city of Oslo, Norway gives Britain a Christmas tree in thanks of Britain's help in World War II. Erected in Trafalgar Square Carols can be heard daily beneath the tree until Christmas.