Horse Guards
Horse Guards stands in London as an eighteenth-century building designed by William Kent. Its clock tower rises above an archway leading towards St James’s Palace and Buckingham Palace. The adjoining Horse Guards Parade opens into a broad ceremonial space beside major government buildings.
The courtyard grew from the former royal palace of Whitehall built for Henry VIII. Mounted soldiers of the King’s Life Guard continue a tradition connected with protecting the sovereign since 1660. Their ceremonies include the changing of the guard and the Four O’Clock Parade. Trooping the Colour opens the building’s central windows for royal spectators, while Beating Retreat brings the Household Division’s massed bands to the parade ground.
Red and blue uniforms, plumed helmets, statues and memorials shape the view around the square. The Royal Naval Division Memorial stands among statues of Viscount Wolseley, Earl Roberts, Lord Kitchener and Lord Mountbatten. Nearby, the Household Cavalry Museum shows how soldiers prepare horses for duty. White lines mark the closest permitted position beside the horses, while wheelchair access makes the site easier to explore.
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