London’s 2025 ceremonial gun salutes

Ceremonial military guns will go bang bang several times in London during 2025, at the Tower of London and in the Royal Parks.

The number of rounds fired in a Royal salute depends on the place and occasion.

The basic Royal salute is 21 rounds, a numerical legacy of how the gun salute was invented. It owes its origins to when warships visiting foreign ports discharged their guns to show they came in peace. In return, the port discharged three rounds for each shot fired by the arriving ship.

British ships often carried seven guns, which gave seven rounds from the ship and a matching 21 rounds from the shore — hence the 21-gun salute.

However, when a gun salute takes place in Hyde Park and Green Park, an extra 20 rounds are added because they are Royal Parks.

Preceding the event, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery will parade their horses and six First World War-era gun carriages out from Wellington Barracks on Birdcage Walk, past Buckingham Palace and up Constitution Hill in the morning to stage the midday salute. In anticipation of their arrival, the Band of the Grenadier Guards will perform celebratory music near the firing position, which is a helpful hint if you’re trying to find them.

In Green Park, the best views are from Constitution Hill, and when salutes are given in Hyde Park, then they are close to Marble Arch.

At the Tower of London 62 rounds are fired on Royal anniversaries (the basic 21, plus a further 20 because the Tower is a Royal Palace and Fortress, plus another 21 ‘for the City of London’) and 41 on other occasions. The gun salutes at the Tower of London occur along the riverside, so visible to all, but the area is cramped. Often you get a better view from Tower Bridge.

At both locations, once the ceremony starts, the guns continue to fire one after the other at 10-second intervals until the required number of rounds have been fired.

Gun Salutes in London 2025

Tuesday 6th May – Coronation Day

• 12pm – Green Park
• 1pm – Tower of London

Saturday 14th June – HM The King’s Official Birthday (Trooping the Colour)

• 12:52 – Green Park
• 1pm – Tower of London

Thursday 17th July – HM The Queen’s Birthday

• 12pm – Green Park
• 1pm – Tower of London

Monday 8th September – Accession Day

• 12pm – Hyde Park
• 1pm – Tower of London

Sunday 9th November – Remembrance Sunday

• 11am – Horse Guards Parade

Friday 14th November – HM The King’s Birthday

• 12pm – Green Park
• 1pm – Tower of London

Gun salutes can be added if a state visit is announced later this year, or at the State Opening of Parliament if an election is called.