One of these would be Irish Guardsman Nicholas Tunge. He was among the Irish Guards in common with the other Guards regiments who had the duty of guarding the Queen at ceremonial events. They also wore the iconic Bearskin headwear along with their famous bright scarlet tunics.
Nicholas happen to be the first black soldier in the company’s history to have the honour of guarding HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace; he had also taken part in several Trooping of the Colour ceremonies.
Nicholas Tunge was born and grew up in Kenya. He served in the Irish Guards from 2002 to 2006. He studied accountancy before applying for and then joining the Irish Guards. As a young boy in Kenya, Nicholas and his family watched the Trooping of the Colour via the BBC on their small TV set.
Nicholas remembered his reaction as a young boy on first seeing the event, “All the soldiers with their smart red uniforms and the Queen riding by, it was really a fantastic sight to see, it seemed like a fairytale, it looked so amazing. I never thought that one day I’d be lining up in front of the Queen or belonging to one of her regiments”.
Nicholas was also one of only a small number of black soldiers to take part in the ceremony of the Changing of the Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace.
