--- description: Coldstream Guards soldier Charanpreet Singh Lall wore a turban instead of the traditional bearskin at Trooping the Color. title: A Sikh Soldier Became The First To Wear Turban for Trooping the Color image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d1b74d672ede381/698932aafb4eac6af0896d42/sikh-royal-horseguard-at-trooping-the-colour.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [royals](/tag/royals/) ## royals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Sikh Soldier Became the First to Wear a Turban at Trooping the Colour  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:25 PM CUTPublished: Jun 9, 2018 2:48 PM CUT  LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 09: Coldstream Guards soldier Charanpreet Singh Lall the first to wear a turban during the ceremony at The Royal Horseguards during Trooping The Colour ceremony on June 9, 2018 in London, England. The annual ceremony involving over 1400 guardsmen and cavalry, is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II. The parade marks the official birthday of the Sovereign, even though the Queen's actual birthday is on April 21st. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 09: Coldstream Guards soldier Charanpreet Singh Lall the first to wear a turban during the ceremony at The Royal Horseguards during Trooping The Colour ceremony on June 9, 2018 in London, England. The annual ceremony involving over 1400 guardsmen and cavalry, is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II. The parade marks the official birthday of the Sovereign, even though the Queen's actual birthday is on April 21st. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)Dan Kitwood—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:25 PM CUTPublished: Jun 9, 2018 2:48 PM CUT A Sikh Coldstream Guards soldier became the first to wear a turban during the Royal Horseguards ceremony Saturday – a move he said he hopes will be a “new change in history.” The soldier, Charanpreet Singh Lall, wore the turban as part of the ceremonies for [Trooping the Colour,](http://time.com/4822670/trooping-the-color-queen-elizabeth-birthday/ "undefined") a parade honoring [Queen Elizabeth’s](http://time.com/5276438/queen-elizabeth-wears-bright-colors-reason-royal-wedding/ "undefined") birthday. Over [1000 soldiers participated](http://time.com/5261475/trooping-the-colour-2018-date-details/ "undefined"), but Lall was the only one wearing a turban. “I hope that people watching, that they will just acknowledge it and that they will look at it as a new change in history,” Lall, 22, told the Press Association. “I hope that more people like me – not just Sikhs but from other religions and different backgrounds – will be encouraged to join the army.” [According to the](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/09/sikh-soldier-becomes-first-to-wear-turban-for-trooping-the-colour "undefined") _Guardian,_ Lall was born in India and moved to the United Kingdom when he was a baby. He joined the British Army nearly two and a half years ago. Lall’s black turban featured the ceremonial cap star, to match his fellow soldiers’ bearskin hats. “It is a good feeling,” Lall said before the event. “There’s going to be a lot of eyes and I am going to have an influence on other people.” **_Correction:_** _The original version of this story misstated the name of a branch of the British Armed Forces. It is the British Army, not the Royal Army._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5307100/sikh-soldier-turbin-trooping-the-colour/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5307100/sikh-soldier-turbin-trooping-the-colour/"},"headline":"A Sikh Soldier Became the First to Wear a Turban at Trooping the Colour","datePublished":"2018-06-09T14:48:46.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T19:25:02.000Z","description":"“I hope that more people like me will be encouraged to join the army”","url":"https://time.com/5307100/sikh-soldier-turbin-trooping-the-colour/","keywords":["royals","United Kingdom","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d1b74d672ede381/698932aafb4eac6af0896d42/sikh-royal-horseguard-at-trooping-the-colour.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d1b74d672ede381/698932aafb4eac6af0896d42/sikh-royal-horseguard-at-trooping-the-colour.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HM The Queen Attends Trooping The Colour","caption":"HM The Queen Attends Trooping The Colour","creditText":"Dan Kitwood—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/royals/","name":"royals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5307100/sikh-soldier-turbin-trooping-the-colour/","name":"A Sikh Soldier Became the First to Wear a Turban at Trooping the Colour"}}]}] ```