Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, are attending a special Changing of the Guards today, April 8, which will see British and French troops swap places to change in front of each other’s palaces.

The ceremony will be carried out in this way for the first time to celebrate 120 years since the Entente Cordiale was signed between Britain and France on April 8 1904, and is the first time a non-Commonwealth country has taken part in the Changing of the Guard.

This agreement cemented the alliance between the two countries throughout the First World War, showcasing an improvement in relations between the former bitter enemies, and heralded the beginning of the Anglo-French friendship which exists to this day.

Altogether 32 members of the Gendarmerie’s Garde Républicaine and 40 Guardsmen from the Scots Guards will be seen together on the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace, where they will be inspected by Edward and Sophie and the French Ambassador.

In parallel the Elysée Palace in Paris will host British personnel in a similar guard ceremony, where 16 soldiers from Number 7 Company Coldstream Guards will join troops from 1er Régiment de la Garde Républicaine to provide the Presidential Guard.

This will be the first time ever that the French Presidential Palace has been guarded by foreign troops, where they will be accompanied by two Musicians from the British Army’s Household Division Bands. President Emmanuel Macron will inspect the troops in the courtyard of the Elysée Palace.

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