The Prince of Darkness was honored during the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace on July 30, 2025.
King Charles III’s Band of the Coldstream Guards paid tribute to late heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne with a rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” Guards dressed in their iconic red tunics and fur hats maintained composure while performing 3 minutes of heavy metal for an audience gathered at the palace. The performance has nearly 200,000 views on the @about.london TikTok account. It was shared across platforms where social media users marveled at the guards’ touching memorial and paid respects to the late rocker.
“Hardest part would be not headbanging a little while you played.”
Coldstream Guards pay respects to the Prince of Darkness at Buckingham Palace
Osbourne, who battled health issues including Parkinson’s toward the end of his life, expressed that he hoped his funeral would be “a celebration, not a mope-fest.”
@about.london The Band of the Coldstream Guards perform “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath at Changing of the Guard today. RIP to Ozzy Osbourne the “Prince of Darkness” #guard #kingsguard #ozzyosbourne #blacksabbath #paranoid #heavymetal #rockband #london #buckinghampalace #fyp ♬ original sound – about.london
“Ozzy’s digging this and probably can’t believe his country is honoring him like this.”
The video was crossposted by u/tareqttv to the r/interestingasf**k subreddit, where it has over 60,000 upvotes. Reddit users shared emotional responses to the performance at Buckingham Palace and celebrated Ozzy’s memory.
“Got a little teary-eyed with this one.”
“Ozzy was so unabashedly proud of being British, and I think that’s why they are honouring him now. He never forgot where he came from.”
“That moment you know you’re on top when the Coldstream Guards bust out Paranoid at Buckingham.”
What is the Changing of the Guard?
The Changing of the Guard marks a formal handover of guard duties from an outgoing group of soldiers to the incoming “New Guard.” The ceremony takes place at royal residences in Britain, most notably, Buckingham Palace, several times a week. Incoming soldiers accompanied by a military band march in, as the “Old Guard” marches out.
Soldiers took formation to the tune of “Paranoid” on the day of Osbourne’s funeral procession in Birmingham, England.
RIP Ozzy
Ozzy Osbourne, 76, died on July 22, 2025, at his family’s home in Welders, Buckinghamshire. The musician had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2003, but Osbourne’s official cause of death was not specified in a statement released by the family.
Ozzy fronted Black Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning” concert for the last time on July 5 in Birmingham.
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