At a royal salute in London, the number of rounds tells you something about where you are. The usual starting point is 21. At a royal park the count rises to 41, while some occasions at the Tower of London call for 62. All three numbers belong to the same tradition, with different additions attached to the place and occasion.
The Royal Household’s guide explains that a salute can express respect or welcome. It can mark the monarch’s birthday, the anniversary of accession, or the arrival of a visiting head of state. The rounds used in a ceremonial salute are blanks.
Why Green Park and the Tower count differently
The Palace adds 20 rounds to the basic 21 at Green Park or Hyde Park because each is a royal park. The Tower has a separate count for the sovereign’s birthday. Historic Royal Palaces lists 62 for the Tower birthday salute and notes that exceptions exist on its calendar.
Two places, two clocks
The Royal Parks calendar lists the King’s November 14, 2026 birthday salute in Green Park at noon London time, or 7 a.m. Eastern. At the Tower of London, Historic Royal Palaces lists that day’s salute at 1 p.m. London time, or 8 a.m. Eastern. Those are the advertised times for the 2026 observance. The official calendars are the best place to check a future date.
The November ceremony marks Charles’s actual birthday, while the outdoor birthday parade in June is a separate event. Our guide to why King Charles has two birthdays explains how the two dates came to share a place on the royal calendar.
What’s your take? Which royal tradition would you most like to see in person?
Sources: Royal Household · The Royal Parks · Historic Royal Palaces.
Featured photo: Green Park during the Colombian state visit, November 1, 2016. VirtuallyLondonBecky / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Archive image, not the 2026 birthday salute.
