The Jamaica Regiment to Mount Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace

Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, the Jamaican Regiment will mount The Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace on alternate days for a period of one month beginning Thursday 19th July at 11:30 a.m. On Friday 27th, Sunday 29th & Tuesday 31st July it will mount the Windsor Castle Guard.
Lieutenant Colonel Derek Robinson commanding the Jamaica Regiment said, “Competition for the opportunity of coming to London to mount The Queen’s Guard has been fierce, training has been intense and the best of my men are looking forward to the honour of guarding Her Majesty. Mounting the Queen’s Guard symbolizes one of the highest tributes we can pay the Sovereign, for The Jamaica Regiment and for the wider Jamaican community both here and in Jamaica.”
The Jamaica Regiment will be accompanied during its stay in the UK by a combined Jamaica Military and Jamaica Regiment Band. The 34-strong band is due to make several appearances in the capital, entertaining Londoners with traditional military music as well as Jamaica’s signature reggae tunes.
The band will be playing at the bandstand in St James’s Park from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on two of Jamaica’s most significant days, Emancipation Day on the August 1 and Independence Day on the 6th. The band will also perform at the precursor to the Notting Hill Carnival – The Grand Carnival Costume Splash at Alexandra Palace on the 19th August at 3pm.
The Jamaican High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency the Honourable Burchell Whiteman, notes, “This is a proud summer for Jamaicans in the UK. I urge Londoners and Jamaicans to unite and enjoy together the spectacle of these remarkable men, both soldiers and musicians, whose colourful uniform together with their musicianship captures the pride and glory of the Jamaica Defence Force, and indeed our wonderful country.