TWIN brothers, cadets, James and John Brown, students at The Skipton Academy, travelled to London last week to take part in a special event at Horse Guards Parade where they performed in front of members of the Royal Family.

The year nine students were amongst members of The National Pipes and Drums of the Cadet Forces to be asked by the Royal Household to take part in this year’s Household Division Beating to Retreat on Horse Guards Parade over two consecutive days, on Wednesday and Thursday last week.

The event was a precursor for the weekend’s Trooping of the Colour, which has celebrated the official birthday of the British Sovereign for over 260 years, and this year marked the 93rd birthday of The Queen.

At the ‘Beating to Retreat’, the brothers performed alongside the Pipes and Drums of the London Scottish, The band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland as well as musicians from the massed bands of the Household Division and a variety of other acts.