This Coldstream Guard was on duty at Buckingham Palace. You can tell he's a Coldstream Guard from the pairs of buttons on his tunic. Apparently the Coldstream Guards are the oldest regiment in the British Army in continuous active service. Curiously now, given their role in protecting the Queen, they started as a Roundhead or Parliamentary regiment in the English civil war between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. Having fought and won for the Parliamentarians, their founder and leader decided to switch sides. They take their name from the village of Coldstream on the Scottish side of the River Tweed where the regiment crossed into england on their way to support the restoration of the monarchy, arriving in london on February 2nd, 1660 – or just over 356 years ago.
Coldstream Guard on guard duty outside Buckingham Palace, London.
