I stayed right across from Buckingham Palace so I felt compelled to watch a changing of the guard at least once during my stay. It was an absolute zoo outside the Palace itself (which turns out to be kind of a dump) so I decided to skip the big ceremony and instead watched the smaller Horse Guard ceremony.

Since Queen Elizabeth was in the States visiting Dubya I saw the “Short Guard” rather than the “Long Guard.” Even without the trumpets and standards of the Long Guard, I was pretty impressed with the skill and precision of the event. It was flawless in every way. As it should be, I guess, since they’ve been performing it in one form or another since the Guard was formed in 1660.