By riding on horseback for the first Trooping the Colour of his reign, which commemorates the British sovereign’s official birthday, King Charles III revived a royal tradition.
Saturday’s traditional military show is a royal tradition that draws a large crowd to central London. The actual birthday of Charles is in November, and it is usually celebrated alone.
He marched with 1,500 soldiers, 300 horses, and hundreds of musicians from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in St. James’s Park for the royal family-watched ceremony.
Since Queen Elizabeth II’s participation in the procession in 1986, this was the first time a monarch in power had done so.
Prince William, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, Princess Anne, who is Gold Stick in Waiting and Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and Prince Edward, who is Colonel of the London Guards, were among the royal colonels who rode with him on horseback. The event is called “a great display of military precision, horsemanship, and fanfare” by the palace.
The Queen, the Princess of Wales, and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, were then transported in a horse-drawn carriage. A Sovereign’s Mounted Escort of soldiers from the Household Cavalry’s Life Guards, Blues, and Royals accompanied the royal party.
In the hours leading up to the parade, well-wishers with Union flags and fascinators gathered early to take prime positions along the Mall outside the royal residence.
In the summer heat, thousands of people were waiting for the ceremonial spectacle to begin. As the royals made their way down the Mall to the parade ground, they were met with a flurry of enthusiastic cheering. In order to record the moment that family members passed by, many people held their smartphones high.
CNN was informed by broadcaster and royal observer Bidisha Mamata that there was “a real sense of celebration.”
There was a lot of medieval pageantry, and the coronation was very serious. This is a lot more about the military. She stated, “This is a great deal more about connecting King Charles with his own history in the Marines, the RAF, and the military; he has a strong connection to the military.”
As the head of Britain’s armed forces, the monarch has traditionally led an army into battle. The monarch saluted as Colonel in Chief of the seven regiments of the Household Division during the ceremony at Horse Guards as the national anthem played. The opportunity to evaluate and approve his army then presented itself.
Queen Camilla and her husband attended the parade of the regimental flag, or color, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in front of hundreds of officers and guardsmen. The regiment performed intricate battlefield drills to music. Kensington Palace previously said that this year’s musical program had “a distinctly Welsh theme,” and the band had written new pieces just for the event.
The royal party will watch an extended military flypast when they return to Buckingham Palace following the parade. Due to bad weather, a similar display had to be cut short following the King’s coronation last month.
According to the Ministry of Defence, approximately 70 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force will take to the skies from 15 locations across the UK before convergently flying across the British capital. The impressive aerial display will feature Typhoon fighter jets, aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial flight, the C-130 Hercules on its final ceremonial flight, and the renowned RAF Red Arrows.
In advance of the event, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton stated, “We are very proud to be able to showcase our capabilities to our Commander-in-Chief, on this historic occasion for His Majesty the King.”
“We have planned a fitting and appropriate tribute for our monarch, which should be a true spectacle for the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom,” the statement reads.
In addition, The King’s Troop will launch a 41-gun salute in Green Park, and the City of London’s Army Reserves’ Honourable Artillery Company will launch a second 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.
