This day in history - 23.09.1136.4

23.09.1136.4    The first Trooping the Colour of King Rufus the Expectant’s reign was meant to be a show of pomp and ceremony set to rival Gurden’s neighbours and tell them ‘who was bloody well in charge’. Ten thousand soldiers were on parade that day, with three thousand horse guards. The spectacle spared no expense. New uniforms, bunting, even the grass that edged the parade ground had been painted green. The men had drilled for weeks in preparation for the event. No detail had been left to chance. That is until the week leading up to the grand day. The weather turned hot and humid. As the sun beat down on the city the humidity climbed. People started sleeping outside as night-time temperatures cooked the city. It felt like the whole city was living inside a pressure cooker.

Then came the big day. It started early. The troops marched onto the parade ground and stood to attention waiting for the regent to present the colours. But due to a uniform malfunction, the King arrived a full two hours late. By then the heat of the day had been beating down on his troops for many hours. Soon men started to drop, fainting where they stood. First in ones and twos, then in clusters of fives and tens. Quickly the parade ground started to resemble a battlefield with bodies lying scattered all over it.

King Rufus might still have saved some pride but for the presentation of the new colours. As he held them out for a pale young officer to receive, the young chap swooned and fell forward onto the King. Slumping to the ground, the officer ripped the purple sash and star from the front of the King’s uniform and then promptly vomited on the King’s boots. From there, the day dissolved into chaos with the King storming from the event and the band being only able to muster three musicians, one playing only the triangle, to strike up the national anthem. The day ended with a cataclysmic thunderstorm that sent the mounted units into a panic. Luckily, no one was badly hurt by the days events and no punishments were handed down but future events were scaled down considerably.