The Changing of the Guard is free to watch and takes place in the middle of one of the busiest parts of London. Tens of thousands of people watch it in summer, most of them standing behind three rows of other people at the Palace gates. Our guides are there every week, which is why our tours navigate you around the whole ceremony rather than where the crowd gathers.
| Days | Monday, Wednesday and Friday |
|---|---|
| Buckingham Palace | 11:00am |
| Where it actually begins | St James’s Palace, around 10:40am |
| How long | About an hour, finishing at 11.45am |
| Cost to watch | Free |
| Sundays | The Sunday Parade, related but not the same ceremony |
Full times and schedule, including Horse Guards and the Sunday Parade. Times change, so check the Household Division schedule before you travel.
Most people think the Changing of the Guard is a single event at the Palace gates at eleven o’clock. In fact it is three linked movements across three sites, and it starts twenty minutes before the time everyone arrives for.
Soldiers stationed at St James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace and Wellington Barracks all take part. This is how the hour unfolds.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 10.30 to 10.40am | St James’s Palace. The Old Guard comes out, usually with a Ceremonial Band or Corps of Drums. The Captain inspects them while the band plays a warm-up tune, then a bugle call or drum roll announces the Regimental Colour, the regiment’s flag. |
| Shortly after | The Mall. Led by the Drum Major, the Old Guard marches down to Buckingham Palace, joins the Palace Old Guard in the forecourt and waits for the New Guard. |
| By 10.55am | Wellington Barracks. The New Guard assembles in the courtyard and marches out along Spur Road behind its own band. |
| 11.00am | Buckingham Palace. The New Guard arrives in the forecourt. |
| 11.00 to 11.30am | Buckingham Palace. The handover. The two Captains shake left hands, symbolising the exchange of the Palace keys and the transfer of responsibility. The band plays while the new sentries take their posts, often pop songs or film music. |
| About 11.10am | Clarence House and St James’s Palace. The First Relief leaves to replace the guards posted there. The soldiers they relieve march back to Buckingham Palace. |
| 11.30am | Wellington Barracks. The Old Guard marches off behind the band and goes off duty for at least 48 hours. |
| 11.35am | Buckingham Palace. The New Guard splits. Half begin duty at the Palace, the rest march to St James’s with a band or Corps of Drums. |
| 11.40 to 11.45am | St James’s Palace. The Colour is carried into the Palace with the soldiers behind it. The band returns to barracks or goes inside, and the ceremony is over. |
Changing the Guard takes place three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Although the section at Buckingham Palace is at 11am, the event begins at St James’s Palace at around 10:40am.
On Sundays there is a separate event called the Sunday Parade, introduced in April 2025. It involves foot guards, marching and music in the same area, but it celebrates the role of the Colour, the regimental flag, and involves one regiment of guards rather than the usual two.
See the full schedule for all three locations.
The whole ceremony takes around an hour from start to finish. The Old Guard emerge from St James’s Palace at around 10:40am and the New Guard complete the ceremony at around 11:45am.
If the rain is heavy, or the forecast is for rain, the British Army may decide to curtail the ceremony. On such occasions there will be a ‘Wet Change’, where the soldiers wear light overcoats and march without the ceremonial band. They also protect their regimental flag, and guard movements vary. Sometimes the full ceremony goes ahead in the rain regardless. The decision to curtail it is usually made at the very last minute.
You can wait at the gates of Buckingham Palace, though you need to arrive early to see anything. You can choose a spot on the Mall or near the Queen Victoria Memorial and wait for the guards to march past. Each position shows you a different part of the ceremony, and each has a trade-off.
The five places you can stand, and what you see from each.
It is a fair question, and the honest answer is that the ceremony is free but knowing where to be is not obvious. Three things separate watching it from understanding it.
You see more than one movement. Standing at the Palace gates shows you the end of the ceremony. A guide moves you between positions so you see the Old Guard leave St James’s, march alongside the Band, the New Guard leaving Wellington Barracks, the First Relief and the conclusion of the ceremony – rather than the one section of it through a crowd or someone else’s phone.
You know what you are looking at. The regiments, the Colour, why the tunics are scarlet and the coats grey for half the year, who the officers are, why they are doing it, and a range of other fascinating detail. Without that, it is just a lot of marching and standing.
You are not guessing about the crowd. Our guides are there four times a week and know how early each position fills in August as opposed to February, and what to do when a Wet Change is called at the last minute.
Not only do we know where to be positioned for the best vantage points of the ceremony, we also look out for signs of movement in and out of the Palaces and Clarence House. On numerous occasions we have seen King Charles, and been within six feet of his unannounced arrival or departure while the rest of the crowds are in the dark.
There are two decisions: how large a group you want to be in, and whether you want to go inside Buckingham Palace afterwards. Everything else follows from those.
| Tour | Group | Length | Palace entry | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Changing the Guard Tour | 4–20 | 2 hours | No | £17 |
| Palace Tickets & Changing the Guard | 4–20 | 3.5 hours | Yes | £72 |
| Private Changing the Guard Tour | Private | 2 hours | No | £250 |
A historic event in London where soldiers of the King’s Guard, Household Division, known as the Old Guard, are relieved of their duty by soldiers known as the New Guard. They are joined by musicians as they march between the palaces and barracks where they are stationed.
Yes. They serve as front-line combat units in conflict zones and provide a ceremonial service for a period, usually at the start of their career.
Yes, SA80s, the same assault rifles they carry when serving overseas.
Their ages vary, with many in their late teens and early twenties. The youngest soldiers are 17.
Yes. Soldiers’ hats are made from Canadian black bear fur and officers’ from Canadian brown bear. The British Army has trialled synthetic alternatives but does not currently consider them practical.
For six months of the year the guards wear thick grey Great Coats instead of the scarlet tunics, to keep warm through the winter.
The King’s Guard provide the first line of security for the Royal family and the Royal Palaces, so it is a role with high responsibility. It is not appropriate to laugh or smile while on duty.
All our answers about the Changing of the Guard.
Our guides run this tour four times a week, year round. If you would rather see the whole ceremony than taking your chance in the crowds, book the Changing the Guard tour or browse all our tours.
