Buckingham Palace Honors 9/11's 25th Anniversary With American Music at Changing of the Guard

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the grounds of Buckingham Palace echoed with American music. On Friday, the Band of The Coldstream Guards performed an all-American program during the Changing of the Guard ceremony, playing John Philip Sousa’s“The Thunderer”and“The Stars and Stripes Forever,”along with the U.S. national anthem and“Amazing Grace.”King Charles ordered the tribute, which honored the nearly 3,000 people killed in 2001.

The gesture carries real history behind it. Just two days after the attacks, Queen Elizabeth II broke royal protocol by having the Coldstream Guards play the American anthem outside the palace, a first for any foreign nation. That decision became one of the most memorable shows of solidarity in the days after 9/11, and Friday’s ceremony served as a continuation of that promise to remember.

Commemorations stretched well beyond London. In New York City, light-up drones traced the outlines of the fallen twin towers in the night sky. From a palace courtyard in England to the skyline of Manhattan, the message stayed the same: the music plays, and the remembering continues.

Did you watch or hear any of Friday’s tributes? Tell us how you marked the 25th anniversary in the comments.