In honor of our nation’s war of independence against England, here are some of the pictures I took from my recent trip to the former British Empire. I recently travelled to London for the second time, and was struck by how much of the culture is still influenced by the dead hand of the aristocracy.

I happened to be near Buckingham Palace during the Queen’s Birthday, and the so-called “Trooping the Colou,” where a regiment of British troops parade in front of the Queen. During the parade, I saw the entire Royal Family. Prince William was riding on a horse in front. He had a bue feather in his cap (but don’t call it macaroni!) Queen Elizabeth was in a tricked out carriage. H/T to Militza for the awesome video.

 

 

Princess Kate (with the pink hat), Prince Harry, and Camilla were in another carriage.

They were flanked by hundreds of soldiers in traditional uniforms. Frankly, the sight of so many Red Coats holding Bayonets made me very uncomfortable. I felt this natural urge to muster and regulate my militia.

After the parade, there was one helluva flyover (they call it a “fly-past”). I jingoistically chanted “USA- USA” at the Red, White, and Blue Stripes.

And Big Ben was not nearly as Big as depicted in Peter Pan.