Horse Guards Parade

In a more accessible version of Buckingham Palace’s Changing of the Guard, the mounted troopers of the Household Cavalry change guard here daily, at the official entrance to the royal palaces (opposite the Banqueting House). A lite-pomp version takes place at 4pm when the dismounted guards are changed. On the Queen’s official birthday in June, the Trooping of the Colour is also staged here. Fittingly, as the parade ground and its buildings were built in 1745 to house the Queen’s so-called ‘Life Guards’, this will be the pitch for the beach volleyball during the London 2012 Olympics.