Buckingham Palace Breaks Protocol for 9/11 25th Anniversary Tribute

Buckingham Palace has paid tribute to the lives lost 25 years ago on Sept. 11 with an all-American musical display during its Changing of the Guard ceremony on Friday.

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The Band of The Coldstream Guards marched into the palace forecourt in its signature red coats and black bearskins and assembled into lines as a crowd of people looked on from the other side of the gates. The ensemble then played two pieces — “The Thunderer” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” — by John Philip Sousa, who is famous for composing American military marches.

The band also honored the United States by playing the American national anthem as well as “Amazing Grace.”

The gesture ordered by King Charles comes a quarter-century after his mother, Queen Elizabeth, first broke protocol by honoring a foreign nation during the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Two days after nearly 3,000 people were killed in the unprecedented terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the late queen had commanded the Coldstream Guards to play the American national anthem outside of Buckingham Palace.

England’s tribute is far from the only display of remembrance taking place this year to commemorate the milestone anniversary. In New York City, light-up drones recreated the outlines of the twin towers that used to be a fixture in the skyline before they were demolished in the attacks.

Billboard is honoring the date with a roundup of some of the best songs to emerge in the aftermath, featuring tracks that grieve for the victims and their families as well as recognize the resilience of Americans since.

Watch the Buckingham Palace musical tribute to the 25th anniversary of 9/11 below.

_Originally reported by [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/9-11-anniversary-buckingham-palace-pays-tribute-25-years-1236338218/)._