After a difficult few months for the Royal Family with a number of health issues for The King and The Princess of Wales, a sense of unity amongst the family was the key takeaway today during the annual Trooping the Colour.
The King’s Birthday Parade saw the Irish Guards trooping their colour, or parading their regimental flag. It’s the first time the Irish Guards have trooped their colour during The King’s Birthday Parade since Catherine became the new Colonel of the regiment in December 2022.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal and The Duke of Edinburgh were on horses as Colonels of the Welsh Guards, Blues and Royals and Scots Guards respectively, whilst Charles was in the Scottish State Coach as Colonel in the Chief of the Household Division.
He has traditionally ridden in the parade, but as he undergoes treatment for cancer, chose the more comfortable option. The day’s forecast however meant everyone was travelling in covered coaches, rather than the traditional open ones we have seen in years gone by.
The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Edinburgh, and Princess Anne riding in Trooping the Colour (Defence Images)
The King and Queen were preceded by The Princess of Wales and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in the Glass Coach.
The Duchess of Edinburgh and Lady Louis shared a Landau with The Duke of Kent; no Earl of Wessex – her son, James – today.
The Princess of Wales made her first official appearance at Trooping, since the announcement of her cancer treatment (Defence Images)
The parade was begun by The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Sir Tim, as the most junior group of Royals in the hierarchy.
For today’s parade, 1400 soldiers participated in the manoeuvres and music, alongside 400 horses, while tens of thousands of people witnessed the event on the Mall, hoping to get a glimpse of the Royals.
The King and The Queen, seen here at House Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour and a spectacle of military precision and music (Defence Images)
The Irish Guards were formed on 1st April 1900 by Queen Victoria, to commemorate the Irish men who fought in the second Boer War for the British Empire. Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of only two Irish Regiments that are still part of the British Army. They recruit mainly in Northern Ireland, and for this reason until 1992 were exempt from tours of duty in the province during The Troubles.
The heavens opened in London just as the parade wrapped up at Horseguards, seeing Lady Louise duck for cover in the covered half of the Landau carriage.
Back at the palace, The King took the salute outside the gates, as the drizzle continued.
The skies cleared beautifully however, and as per tradition, the flypast took place at 1 o’clock, where the Red Arrows left their iconic red, white and blue trails, coming chinooks and typhoons roared through the skies, marking the conclusion of the flypast.
The Royal Family on the baclony of Buckingham Palace for The King’s Birthday Parade, Trooping the Colour (Defence Images)
Similar to last year’s Trooping, only working Royals were on the balcony, and not the wider family similar to Trooping during Elizabeth II. However, it is understood that Charles continues the tradition of holding a family-wide lunch after the parade, as one of the few occasions in the calendar that most of the relatives can gather.
As in previous years, Louis captured the attention of royal watchers – boogying to the Scots Guards’ Hielan’ Laddie from the balcony of the Major General’s office at Horseguards.
@crownchronicles Prince Louis doing what he does best – bringing the vibes. 💅👑#princelouis #royalfamily #royaltok #troopingthecolour ♬ original sound – The Crown Chronicles
