Guard of Honour welcomes Indonesian President to UK
The President of the Republic of Indonesia has been welcomed to Britain on the first day of a three-day state visit by a Guard of Honour consisting of members of the Armed Forces.
Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mrs Yudhoyono arrived in London yesterday and were formally greeted on Horse Guards Parade by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
The Guard of Honour, comprising 101 rank and file and three officers, was provided by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards and musical accompaniment by the battalion’s Pipes and Drums and the Band of the Irish Guards, directed by Major Robert Hopla. The Guard of Honour was commanded by Major Tom Eastman.
As the President arrived at Horse Guards from Whitehall, the Queen’s Life Guard gave a Royal Salute. Royal Salutes of 41 guns were then fired in Green Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, commanded by Major Mark Edward, and from Gun Wharf at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company, commanded by Major David Daniel.
Major General George Norton, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded all the troops on parade.
The President and Mrs Yudhoyono, accompanied by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, were then escorted to Buckingham Palace by the Sovereign’s Escort, with two standards provided by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
During the President’s journey to Buckingham Palace, street-liners were provided by Nijmegen Company of the Grenadier Guards, Number 7 Company of the Coldstream Guards and the 1st Battalion Irish Guards.
On arrival at Buckingham Palace, a Guard of Honour from F Company of the Scots Guards formed up in the Quadrangle, with musical support provided by the Band of the Scots Guards.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment provided staircase-lining parties in Buckingham Palace for the President’s arrival and again in the evening for the state banquet.
During the state banquet, a Foot Guards string orchestra under the command of the Senior Director of Music, Household Division, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Barnwell, and 12 pipers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland provided musical entertainment.
Major General Norton said:
It was, as always, an honour to parade in support of Her Majesty The Queen as she welcomed a Head of State to our country, and I know that all ranks involved were determined to perform to the standard to which the nation has become accustomed.
This afternoon a dismounted detachment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment will line the staircase during the President’s visit to the House of Lords.
And this evening the Honourable Artillery Company will provide the Guard of Honour accompanied by the Band and Corps of Drums of the regiment at the Guildhall, where the Corporation of London is holding a banquet.
The Guard of Honour will be commanded by Major Anthony Bagwell and state trumpeters of the Band of the Life Guards will play fanfares during the reception and banquet.
On Friday, when the President and Mrs Yudhoyono depart Buckingham Palace, a detachment of 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment will be on the south side of the forecourt.