The autograph of this fanfare is headed, ‘Written for the entrance of H.M. The Queen at the N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians’ Conference, London, June 1959.’ As the title implies, this was a high-powered international occasion celebrating the tenth anniversary of the creation of NATO, which was held in the imposing surroundings of Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster.

The piece is a mere 16 bars long, but even so has two tempo directions; its harmony is based on Walton’s favourite piled-up thirds, creating sevenths, ninths, and elevenths in profusion. Its abrupt but very effective modulation to end on a D major chord at the close was presumably made to provide a dominant pivot into the National Anthem (usually performed in G), though this is not stated in the score. The anthem was doubtless played in Westminster Hall on 5 June by the State Trumpeters who had performed the fanfare.