Major rule change for Trooping the Colour soldiers after Army lifts 100-year-old ban – can YOU spot the difference?
THE Trooping the Colour saw a major rule change that saw the army lift a 100 year-old ban.
Yesterday Princess Kate wowed fans by attending the historic event to mark the King’s birthday.
The Royals gathered on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past by the Royal Air Force.
However eagle eyed viewers would have noticed a difference in the appearance of some soldiers.
Yesterday was the first Trooping the Colour since the army lifted a ban on beards.
All the beards had to include a moustache – and be trimmed neatly off the cheekbone and neck.
Bristles had to be thick and the length had to be between 2.5mm and 25.5mm, or between a Grade 1 and Grade 8.
The Army’s top soldier Sergeant Major Paul Carney announced the “major policy change” in March.
The historic move brought the army in line with the navy, whose sailors have worn beards for centuries. The RAF has allowed beards since 2019.
SAS and SBS troops are also allowed to have beards by tradition. The Sun revealed in December the axing of the ban was close.
Army chiefs overturn century-old ban on beards
The army overturned a historic ban on beards earlier this year.
The move allowed regular troops and commissioned officers can now grow out facial hair for the first time since 1908.
The Army’s top soldier Sergeant Major Paul Carney announced the “major policy change” with immediate effect.
But he insisted that the beards will have to be tidy. He insisted: “Our standards can’t stop”.
It was timed to let clean-shaven soldiers be able to start growing their whiskers out over the Easter leave.
WO1 Carney told troops in a video: “Getting to an outcome has taken a bit longer than expected due to the larger number of stakeholders that were involved, including His Majesty the King, our politicians and our allies.”
King Charles supported the rule change.
Yesterday’s event saw Kate and King Charles stand shoulder to shoulder before adoring crowds.
It was the first time Princess Kate had attended a public royal event since she and Charles were diagnosed with cancer.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said the late Queen would have been proud of Charles and Kate’s “gesture of solidarity”.
Body language expert Judi James explained that Kate, 42, was keen to ensure that her father-in-law remained the focus during Trooping the Colour.
The expert said: “In a tradition created by her husband’s granny, Kate’s body language here showed the world what being a royal is all about: elegant, calm and stoic with not one smallest jot of self-pity or drama.
“Kate’s non-verbal messages seem to signal a smiling determination to reassure the public and her own children and to get on with the job.
“She made it clear in her written message that this is a step towards a return, not the start of it but even from the glimpses of her in the carriage her upright back and her signature smile showed a desire to show resilience and poise.”