Every December 2 since 1953, in celebration of the birthday of the King of Thailand, the Royal Guards of the Royal Thai Armed Forces perform a military parade and pledge loyalty to the monarch. The venue is the Royal Plaza at Bangkok, Thailand, in front of the Dusit Palace and its Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall.
All three branches of the armed forces take part in the parade, as seen in the composition of the Massed Military Bands, Bugle Squads and the Colors Parties of the 13 military units participating, also unique in their uniforms and bearskin hats, except for the lone cavalry unit in attendance, wearing Cuirassier uniforms, cavalry helmets, mounts and Thai lances. These uniforms are a nod to the British military traditions in the Royal Thai Armed Forces since the time of King Rama V Chulangkorn in the final years of the 19th century, with a combination of the British and German military drill and ceremonial. The general public also attend the parade celebrations, and Thai television stations broadcast this to the entire nation.
Of the 13 participating battalions most are from the Royal Thai Army with two battalions, one each from the Royal Thai Navy and Royal Thai Marine Corps and another two battalions coming from the Royal Thai Air Force; all in full dress uniforms. Of all of them, most are active military units, the rest are military academies of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, represented by cadet battalions of the academies themselves led by their commandants.
The tradition started in 1953 by His Majesty, King Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej, as a simple colours ceremony for the new colours of the 1st Infantry Regiment "The King's Guards" and has now grown into a national military tradition through the years. Since 2009, however, Trooping the Colours is not held, however the oath taking part of the ceremony is retained, plus the ceremonial march-in and march-out of the troops and the Massed Bands, the Royal Salutes and the Royal 21-Gun Salute.
On Dec. 5, 1953, the 1st Inf. Regiment The King's Guards of the Royal Thai Army received their Colours from no less HM King Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej, in his capacity as Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, in Bangkok, and trooped it in his presence, thus beginning this national military tradition. This has now grown from being a purely infantry activity to becoming an Armed Force-wide celebration over the years, with the original unit now being joined by 12 other units representing the RTAF. They form the Thai counterpart to the British Household Division.