The New Murrey and Blue blog

Trooping the Colour is purely ceremonial these days, but in times gone by, when there was no instant communication on the battlefield, prior to the conflict the flag (colours) was paraded (trooped) up and down the lines of soldiers to remind them of exactly what their own flag looked like.

This may sound unnecessary, but all too often flags, banners, coats-of-arms and badges could resemble one another, so being 100% sure of your own was essential. A famous example of a fatal mistake was on Easter Sunday 1471 at the Battle of Barnet, when in foggy conditions the Earl of Oxford’s star with rays was mistaken for Edward IV’s sun in splendour. The Lancastrians turned upon each other, thinking they were attacking the Yorkists, and in the ensuing confusion the battle was lost and the great Earl of Warwick, the “Kingmaker”, was slain. Victory went to the Yorkist king, Edward IV. So knowing your own banner was vital!

Anyway, I digress, because on 15 June this year King Charles welcomed Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at Buckingham Palace before they attended a Service of Thanksgiving together. The occasion marked the 650th anniversary of the Treaty of Tagilde, which formalised the Anglo-Portuguese alliance. This was on 10 July 1372 and the signatories were King Edward III of England and King Fernando and Queen Leonor of Portugal. “….The alliance, based on the perpetual friendship between the two countries, was renewed in the Treaty of Windsor of 1386 [Richard II], and by several other treaties throughout the centuries….”

May our long friendship with Portugal continue for another 650 years, and as Buzz Lightyear might have said “to infinity and beyond”.

You can read more about the President of Portugal’s visit here (which has a lot of illustrations), here. And about the Treaty of Tagilde here.