A 22-year-old Coldstream soldier has become the first to wear a turban at the Trooping the Colour parade.
Guardsman Charanpreet Singh Lall is one of 1,000 soldiers who took part in the annual ceremony which marks the Queen’s official birthday.
The guardsman, a Sikh from Leicester, said he hopes that this will be looked upon as a “new change in history”.
He wants more people from different religions and backgrounds to be encouraged to join the Army.
Guardsman Lall said: “I hope that people watching, that they will just acknowledge it and that they will look at it as a new change in history.
“I hope that more people like me, not just Sikhs but from other religions and different backgrounds, that they will be encouraged to join the Army.”
“I’m quite proud and I know that a lot of other people are proud of me as well,” he said.
“For myself, being the first turban-wearing Sikh to troop the colour and to be part of the escort it is a really high honour for myself, and hopefully for everyone else as well.
“My mum was crying on the day I passed out so I wonder what is going to happen to her when she sees me in this.”
