Changing of the King's Life Guard

The lowdown

Everyone queues ten deep for the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, while a few minutes away at Horse Guards the mounted version happens daily with a fraction of the crowd, and it is just as free. The King's Life Guard, drawn from the Household Cavalry, change duty in a precise ceremony of horses, plumed helmets and gleaming breastplates.

Because far fewer tourists know about it, you can usually get right to the front and actually see what is happening, the inspection, the dismounts and the handover, all set against the handsome old Horse Guards building. It happens at 11am on weekdays and 10am on Sundays, rain or shine.

Even outside the ceremony, two mounted troopers sit sentry at the gateway through the day, endlessly photographed and stoically still. It is one of the best free pieces of royal pageantry in London, and the secret is simply knowing to come here instead.