This year, I had the privilege of being invited by the Secretary of State for Scotland to watch the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony - which marks the Queen’s official birthday - from the Scotland Office balcony overlooking Horse Guards Parade.
There was a magnificent display of military discipline by the Household Division.
The origin of the ceremony is the ‘Colour’ – the regimental flag – which was historically paraded and displayed in front of the soldiers to ensure that they were familiar with the colours and insignia of other British troops, and so they could identify them in the confusion of battle.
Over time, this became the ceremony to mark the Official Birthday of the Monarch and this has been the case for over 250 years.
As part of the ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen inspects the division and Her Majesty has missed this only once in 65 years. It was a wonderful spectacle worthy of celebrating an important day.