The palace also shared some insight on Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales’ participation in the festivities surrounding the King’s birthday parade
King Charles will take part in Trooping the Colour differently this year.
After the Ministry of Defense confirmed that the annual celebration of the monarch’s birthday will go on as planned on June 15 despite the reduction in royal outings ahead of the U.K.’s election, it has been confirmed that King Charles will attend the event amid his cancer treatment. Instead of riding on horseback as he did in previous years, including in 2023 during his first Trooping the Colour as King, the royal will conduct his review seated in a horse-drawn carriage alongside Queen Camilla.
Queen Elizabeth switched from participating in the event on horseback to riding in a coach in 1987 when she was 60 — compared to her son and heir, who is now 75.
Last year, King Charles was joined by Prince William, Prince Edward (a first for the Duke of Edinburgh!) and Princess Anne on horseback while other members of the royal family rode in carriages.
The palace also shared an update on Kate Middleton’s participation in the events surrounding Trooping the Colour amid her own cancer diagnosis. The Princess of Wales, 42, is the honorary colonel of the Irish Guards, which are trooping its flag at the parade this year. However, she will not take the salute at the traditional Colonel’s Review on June 8, it was confirmed.
Lieutenant General James Bucknall, a former Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps who has attended every sovereign’s birthday parade since 2009 when he was appointed Colonel of the Coldstream Guards, will take the salute.
It remains unclear whether Kate will join the royal family at Trooping the Colour on June 15. She has attended the event every year since marrying Prince William in 2011 except when the event was significantly scaled down in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Princess Kate has remained out of the public eye since publicly sharing her cancer diagnosis in March, King Charles recently returned to a fuller schedule of royal duties, including public outings, as he continues cancer treatment. After spending months working mainly behind the scenes or taking part in small audiences, the King quipped during a May 9 outing to the Royal School of Military Engineering that he was glad to be “out of my cage.”
After King Charles and Prince William canceled scheduled engagements after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on May 22 that a general election would be held in July, Buckingham Palace said the royals would postpone outings “which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign,” assessing each event on a case-by-case basis. However, the Ministry of Defense confirmed on May 29 that Trooping the Colour would go on as scheduled.
According to the British Army, the ceremonial presentation of the military’s regimental flags, called “colours,” is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II, who ruled from 1660 to 1685. The parade was first formally linked to the monarch’s birthday during the reign of King George II in 1748 and got a permanent spot on the royal calendar following the accession of King George III in 1760.
The incredible military procession is typically held in June and serves as an official birthday celebration for the monarch, regardless of when their actual birthday is. There’s a very practical reason for this choice: better weather!
Hundreds of soldiers, horses and musicians take part in the patriotic display with members of the royal family traveling by carriage or on horseback from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade at St. James’ Park. There, the King will receive a royal salute and inspect troops representing the Regiments of the Household Division, dressed in ceremonial uniforms of red tunics and bearskin hats.
The day’s biggest photo-op comes when the royals return to Buckingham Palace and gather on the royal residence’s balcony to watch the Royal Air Force soar overhead with a flypast.
