Buckingham Palace has confirmed The King’s birthday will be celebrated with the annual Trooping the Colour next summer, following in royal tradition.
The pageant will take place on 17th June 2023, where His Majesty will take the salute and celebrate his official birthday; he will be turning 75.
The King is the current Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiments of Household Division (and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces). He has confirmed three new Colonel-in-Chiefs ahead of the celebration:
-
- – The Queen Consort has become the Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards. A role that was held by The Duke of York until he stepped down from royal duties following the lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre. Previously this was Prince Philip’s colonelship.
- – The Prince of Wales is the new Colonel-in-Chief of the Welsh Guards.
- – The Princess of Wales is now the Colonel-in-Chief of the Irish Guards, a role previously held by her husband. This is her first senior military appointment.
Take a look at how to identify the various foot and cavalry regiments here.
The Princess Royal remains as Colonel-in-Chief of the Blue and Royals, and The Duke of Kent is Colonel-in-Chief of the Scots Guards.
Charles was born on 14th November 1948, but Monarchs have celebrated their birthday in the summer for better weather for over a century.
Trooping the Colour, meanwhile, has marked the official birthday of the Sovereign for over 260 years. Over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians come together for a display of military procession, horsemanship and fanfare.
Members of the Royal Family go out onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards for a fly-past from the RAF.
2022’s Trooping the Colour saw the Queen miss the salute but joined the Family for the traditional fly-over. The balcony appearance this year saw only working Royals included. The then-Prince of Wales took the salute on behalf of his mother.