Buckingham Palace Changing the Guard, July 2026: 6 Dates Left, and Why 3pm Doesn't Count

Buckingham Palace's official schedule has something listed almost every day, and the 3pm slot often names a military band too — which makes it easy to assume that's an afternoon changeover. It isn't. The official listing for that slot is Captain's Inspection, and there's no handover between an outgoing and incoming guard involved at all. The real changeover goes by one label in the schedule's Type column: Guard Change. As of the 11am ceremony on 18 July 2026, Buckingham Palace has 6 Guard Change dates left this month, all in the back half of July.

That "6 left" figure has a shelf life, though. Below is the full list of remaining dates plus one check worth making no matter when you're reading this, followed by how to tell Guard Change apart from the 3pm inspection, when to actually show up, and where to stand.

How many dates are left this month

The 6 remaining Guard Change dates this month are all in late July, all at 11am, London local time:

• Monday 20 July, 11am
• Wednesday 22 July, 11am
• Friday 24 July, 11am
• Monday 27 July, 11am
• Wednesday 29 July, 11am
• Friday 31 July, 11am

This list was checked against the official schedule on the afternoon of 18 July 2026 — it's a snapshot of that moment, not a fixed weekly pattern. Older blog posts claiming "Monday, Wednesday, Friday, every week" are only a rough starting point: the official schedule is republished monthly, and August's dates don't exist until August's table goes live. Even the dates above can still be changed or cancelled at short notice — bad weather, a clash with a royal engagement, or a change of unit — and the call can come as late as 10:45am on the day itself. Reopen The Household Division's official website (the body that organises Changing the Guard and the other ceremonial guard duties) the night before and again on the morning of your visit, and check the Changing the Guard schedule page yourself. That one check matters more than anything else in this article.

Don't mistake 3pm for the changeover

Buckingham Palace's official schedule has something listed nearly every day, which makes it easy to assume any listed slot means a changeover. What actually matters isn't whether a slot exists — it's what the Type column says:

• Guard Change: the new guard marches over from Wellington Barracks (a short distance south of the palace) and relieves the guard currently on duty. The outgoing captain symbolically hands over the palace keys, marking the transfer of security responsibility, with a band playing throughout — this is the "changing of the guard" people come to see.
• Captain's Inspection: on days without a changeover, the guard's captain inspects the soldiers currently on duty at 3pm to confirm they're still fit for the job. This happens at Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace and Windsor Castle, but no outgoing or incoming guard is involved.

The easiest mistake to make: several of Buckingham Palace's 3pm Captain's Inspection slots in July 2026 also list a band on the official schedule. A band doesn't mean it's a changeover — the only reliable signal is whether the Type column says Guard Change. Don't just glance at the time, and don't head for the railings the moment you hear music.

On the same schedule, Sunday 19 and 26 July are listed as Sunday Parade at 10am (a Sunday inspection that includes the Colour) — also not a changeover, so there's no need to rush over on those mornings either.

When you check the official schedule yourself, read it in this order: Location first (Windsor Castle also gets a Captain's Inspection, easy to mix up), then Type — is it Guard Change — and only then Time. Only when all three line up is it the ceremony you're after.

11am isn't your arrival time

The official schedule marks the changeover at 11am, but that's only the moment the new guard enters the forecourt and the formal handover begins — it isn't when you should arrive. The marching actually starts at 10:43:

• 10:43 — the St James's Palace detachment of the outgoing guard sets off. St James's Palace is another royal residence a few minutes' walk east of Buckingham Palace; this group marches along The Mall (the wide, straight avenue running from the palace gates towards Trafalgar Square) to Buckingham Palace.
• 10:57 — the new guard leaves Wellington Barracks, usually with the band marching alongside, heading for Buckingham Palace.
• 11am — the new guard enters the palace forecourt and the formal handover begins. This is what "11am" on the official schedule actually refers to.
• 11:40 — the outgoing guard leaves Buckingham Palace and heads back to Wellington Barracks.
• 11:45 — the St James's Palace detachment leaves Buckingham Palace, and the main ceremony is essentially over.

From 10:43 to 11:45 is roughly an hour altogether; the formal handover inside the forecourt runs from 11am to 11:40am. If you come out of the tube at 11am, you've likely already missed the marching and will be looking for a gap at the back of the crowd. Green Park, St James's Park and Victoria stations are all a walkable distance from the palace, with no need to change lines to get there. If you want to see the whole thing, aim to be in position by 10:30am; if you only care about the marching rather than the forecourt handover, timing your arrival to 10:43 or 10:57 still works.

Handover or procession: pick one, then pick your spot

There's no single spot around Buckingham Palace that covers everything — the forecourt handover and the marching happen in different places. Decide what you most want to see first, then commit to a spot rather than trying to catch both.

Mainly want the forecourt handover: stand at the railings in front of the palace

The salutes and the symbolic handover of the keys both happen inside the forecourt, behind the railings — this is as close as you'll get to the formal handover, and the band is clearest from here too. The trade-off is competition: for the Monday/Wednesday/Friday summer dates, if you want a spot right against the railings, budget 60–90 minutes of waiting (a cautious estimate, not an official guarantee — it can be quicker when it's less busy). Further back, your view gets blocked by the people and phones in front of you, and the railings themselves will cut through your photos.

Mainly want the marching and the band: stand along the route

Both the stretch from St James's Palace onto The Mall, and the stretch from Wellington Barracks to Buckingham Palace, let you see the guards and band pass close by, with a much clearer sense of scale and movement than watching through railings — and you don't need to arrive an hour or two early to get a spot. The trade-off is that you won't see what happens inside the forecourt.

Want an elevated, wide view: stand around the Victoria Memorial

The memorial (the white stone monument directly facing the palace gates, at the centre of the roundabout in front of the palace) sits slightly higher than street level, letting you fit both the marching guards and the palace itself into one view. The downside is that it's one of the most crowded spots in summer, and phones held up in front of you are just as much of a problem here. This area also tends to have police cordons and crowd-flow lines in place — don't climb railings or step into a restricted area to get a better vantage point.

Kids, rain and pickpockets

With kids: the steadier option is picking a spot along the route rather than competing with adults for a place at the railings — pushchairs and young children struggle to get in and out of a dense crowd, and even up close, the adults around them can still block a child's view. Tell your kids in advance that the guards might only be in view for a few minutes, so they don't expect constant excitement. Afterwards, St James's Park (the royal park right next to the palace) is a good place to unwind — don't let the whole morning turn into just standing and waiting.

Rain: this is an outdoor ceremony, and poor weather can change the day's plans at short notice. Bring a light waterproof jacket rather than a large umbrella that blocks the people behind you in a crowd. Keep a backup plan for the morning that doesn't depend on the ceremony going ahead, and if police or military personnel redirect the crowd on the day, follow their instructions over anything written here.

Pickpockets: official safety guidance specifically flags that pickpocketing has happened in these crowded viewing areas. Keep your phone, ID and wallet in a zipped pocket at the front of your body, don't leave a bag on the ground or hanging off the back of a pushchair, and report anything suspicious to a nearby police officer.

Check the official schedule on the day to confirm nothing's been cancelled, look for Guard Change specifically, arrive around 10:43, and pick your spot based on what you actually want to see — after that, it's just standing in place for a quarter of an hour or so of marching and music. This free ceremony usually falls in the morning, which leaves most of the afternoon open: Buckingham Palace, The Mall, St James's Park and Horse Guards are all within easy walking distance of each other — for exactly how to walk that route and what's worth seeing along the way, see our Royal London City Walk guide. One thing worth flagging if you walk past Horse Guards afterwards — the mounted Household Cavalry's changing ceremony there is a separate event from the King's Guard change at Buckingham Palace, not the same ceremony at a different spot. If you want to fill the rest of the day, Zaizai's British Museum guided tour in Chinese and National Gallery guided tour in Chinese can both be done in half a day — the National Gallery in particular is a short walk from Buckingham Palace along The Mall.

The Guard Change dates, procession timings and ceremony details above were checked against The Household Division's official website at the time of writing — check the website again on the day before you travel.