Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire] The parades, which take place on July 12, are a Protestant celebration of King William’s victory over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne some 329 years ago.
Celebrations begin on July 11 every year with bonfires and fireworks before thousands of members of the Orange Order take to the streets of Northern Ireland the following day.
Queen Elizabeth once described Northern Ireland’s Orange marches as ‘silly business’, newly unsealed government papers have revealed.
REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff] On the 12th, up to 500,000 ‘Orangemen’ don instinctive bowler hats, white gloves and orange collarettes to parade through 18 areas of Northern Ireland with marching bands playing drums and pipes.
The annual Orange marches of Protestants in Northern Ireland are highly contentious – mainly with their Catholic counterparts.
