All The Queen’s Men with Alan Titchmarsh’ and includes Alan riding with The King’s Troop!

Wednesday 21 July 2010

All The Queen’s Men with Alan Titchmarsh’ and includes Alan riding with The King’s Troop!

Organisers of The Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo and Royal Windsor Horse Show are pleased to confirm that ‘All The Queen’s Men with Alan Titchmarsh’ will air on ITV1 on Sunday 25th July at 7pm. The programme is a follow-up to ‘All The Queen’s Horses with Alan Titchmarsh’ that was filmed and broadcast in 2009, also by ITV.

Below follows a synopsis of the programme - which includes Alan Titchmarsh riding with The King’s Troop during rehearsals for their Musical Drive:

Every year the Queen invites the public into her back garden at Windsor Castle as the Royal residence hosts the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo.

Now in its third year, this military spectacular sees over 600 soldiers, sailors and airmen performing across four nights in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

In this new programme for ITV1, Alan gives a unique insight into this magnificent event. He goes behind the scenes to talk to members of the Royal Household, participants and organisers, and personally experiences how tough some of the military routines are. He catches up with some of the people he met during filming for last year’s programme, All The Queen’s Horses and speaks to Prince Edward about the contribution the military make both this event and to our lives.

The Tattoo is known for breathtaking and, at times, dangerous displays by the armed forces. Alan is invited to join the King’s Troop during their rehearsals, and as he prepares to ride with them he admits to being: “Half tremendously excited and half terrified.” The teams of horses and First World War gun carriages need to use split second timing to avoid collision during the fast-moving routine. If the timing isn’t right, the gun carriages can crash forward into the horses and riders.

Sergeant Martin Dennis attempts to allay Alan’s fears, but listing serious injuries he himself received during previous rehearsals is perhaps not the best way.

Undeterred, Alan mounts his horse, and despite a heart stopping moment where he nearly falls when his foot comes out of the stirrup, he completes the routine and is praised by the commanding officers. As he dismounts he says: “That was such a thrill, but very, very, very scary.” He adds: “I must have done something right as I’ve been asked to ride through London with the Troop as they return to their barracks.” When he leaves them, a clearly emotional Alan admits his response to being a part of the King’s Troop has taken him by surprise. “It’s actually incredibly emotional. I’m quite overwhelmed by it, I feel immensely proud.” As he wipes away a tear he says: “Oh Gosh, foolish boy.”

The Windsor Tattoo is a chance for the forces to show what they are made of and the Navy’s perilous field gun race certainly shows their strength, determination and team work.

Warrant Officer Glen Young from the Portsmouth Navy Field Gun team tells Alan: “It’s an absolute honour isn’t it? To perform in front of the Queen is something that every naval service person would like to do. It certainly helps with my recruitment!”

The teams have to be in top physical condition for this gruelling race and Alan spends 24 hours on board naval destroyer, HMS Dauntless to find out how they prepare for the Tattoo while still carrying out their naval duties. After taking part in a training session and getting a taste of what modern Navy life entails, Alan boards a helicopter back to Windsor courtesy of the RAF. When he arrives, he is surprised to find a Scimitar Tank waiting to give him a lift to the Castle. Unsurprisingly, they cause quite a stir with locals as the tank drives through Windsor.

Prince Edward tells Alan about the insight the Tattoo gives the public into their armed forces. “ It’s not just about what goes on in the Tattoo, that is hopefully the showpiece that brings them in, but they get to visit some of the stands around as well. It’s really trying to put them in touch with soldiers, sailors and airmen and services generally.”

Last September, Prince Edward visited Afghanistan in his role of Royal Colonel: 2nd Battalion of the Rifles. He tells Alan what the experience meant to him. “I did have the extraordinary privilege of being able to go out to Sangin and to visit them at Fort Jackson which was right on the front line. It makes a huge difference now when they come back as I can actually look them in the eye and say ‘at least I know a little bit of the experience and I know where you were and the conditions you were serving in.’ We produce some extraordinary people out of this country and what they do out there is first class. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to them”

Rehearsals for the Tattoo, with its mix of weaponry, tanks and bands is a challenge for veteran director Dougie Squires who tells Alan that the Queen keeps her eye on everything. He comments: “She’s incredibly bright and especially with military things. She knows it like the back of her hand.” He laughingly adds: “She could do my job better than me!”

One of the stars of the Tattoo is Joey, an astonishingly lifelike horse puppet from the play, Warhorse. The Queen and Prince Philip were very keen to see this play about the First World War and one night slipped into the West End theatre unannounced. Performing a section of the play is an honour for the puppeteers and they were delighted when the Queen inspected Joey before the show.

Tommy Luther, one of the puppeteers tells Alan: “Her Majesty was very funny, very sweet and quite intrigued as to how the puppet works. Actor, Tim Lewis adds: “She seemed to be really pleased, she was overwhelmed. Prince Philip came round as well and they both had beaming smiles on their faces.”

Members of the Royal family attend the Tattoo every evening, but the most important night for the armed services taking part is the final night when they are watched by the Head of the Armed Forces, Her Majesty the Queen.

This year, Alan is the compère on the last night and when it is over he reflects on what the Tattoo means. “This Tattoo is an amalgamation of so many different things and so many different emotions. All the services are here; the Army, the Royal Marines, the Navy, Air Force and soldiers from overseas as well. People come from miles to see this and you could say it’s just pomp and ceremony, but it’s much more than that. It’s a nation proud of its armed forces and keen to show its support. This ceremony is a coming together of a whole mixture of emotions. It’s British pride and British dignity but above all it’s British spirit.”


 
Recent More News
Appointment of Independent Non-Executive Board Directors Appointment of Independent Non-Executive Board Directors
28/03/2024
POYS PREVIEW 2024 POYS PREVIEW 2024
27/03/2024
Charlie Hancox from Worcestershire is February’s NAF Shining Star Charlie Hancox from Worcestershire is February’s NAF Shining Star
26/03/2024
British riders hit the heights in Spain with Grand Prix wins as siblings Ellen and Donald Whitaker dominate at two major shows British riders hit the heights in Spain with Grand Prix wins as siblings Ellen and Donald Whitaker dominate at two major shows
25/03/2024
New champions spring into action at the British Showjumping Spring Championships New champions spring into action at the British Showjumping Spring Championships
25/03/2024
view news archive »