✦ A Classic Poem ✦

Buckingham Palace

A poem by A. A. Milne, from When We Were Very Young, 1924

Christopher Robin goes with his nanny, Alice, to watch the Changing of the Guard. He looks for the King, and Alice always has something to say.

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✦ The Poem ✦

Buckingham Palace

by A. A. Milne, from When We Were Very Young (1924). Public domain in the United States.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— Christopher Robin went down with Alice. Alice is marrying one of the guard. “A soldier’s life is terrible hard,” Says Alice.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— Christopher Robin went down with Alice. We saw a guard in a sentry-box. “One of the sergeants looks after their socks,” Says Alice.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— Christopher Robin went down with Alice. We looked for the King, but he never came. “Well, God take care of him, all the same,” Says Alice.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— Christopher Robin went down with Alice. They’ve great big parties inside the grounds. “I wouldn’t be King for a hundred pounds,” Says Alice.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— Christopher Robin went down with Alice. A face looked out, but it wasn’t the King’s. “He’s much too busy a-signing things,” Says Alice.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace— Christopher Robin went down with Alice. “Do you think the King knows all about me?” “Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea,” Says Alice.

✦ About the Poem ✦

A Day Out in London

A. A. Milne (1882–1956) wrote When We Were Very Young in 1924 for his son, Christopher Robin, two years before Winnie-the-Pooh. The book was an instant success, and its poems, illustrated by E. H. Shepard, are still read aloud in nurseries a hundred years later.

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, where soldiers in red coats and tall black bearskin hats march in to take over from the old guard, has drawn crowds for well over a century. Alice was the real name of Christopher Robin’s nanny, and her matter-of-fact answers are what make the poem so funny.

✦ Talk About It ✦

Questions to Share

  • Who does Christopher Robin go to the palace with?
  • Who is Christopher Robin hoping to see? Does he see him?
  • Which of Alice’s answers is your favorite?

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