King Charles Marks Official Birthday With Trooping the Colour as Kate Returns
More than 1,350 soldiers paraded through central London for the annual spectacle, with the Princess of Wales appearing alongside the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
King Charles III marked his official birthday Saturday with Trooping the Colour, the centuries-old military pageant that drew thousands of spectators to central London for one of the British monarchy’s grandest annual displays. The King’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, trooped its Colour in the sovereign’s presence as the parade wound along the Mall toward Horse Guards Parade.
More than 1,350 soldiers of the Household Division and the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery took part, joined by over 300 musicians from the Massed Bands. Charles, in full military dress uniform adorned with gold braiding, medals and a blue sash, greeted well-wishers, while Queen Camilla wore a scarlet ceremonial coat accented with gold detailing and a feathered hat. The King and Queen traveled in the Ascot Landau carriage.
The ceremony drew particular attention for the appearance of Catherine, the Princess of Wales, who continues to resume public duties following her cancer diagnosis and treatment. She traveled with her three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — and later watched a Royal Air Force flypast from the Buckingham Palace balcony. Observers noted that Kate wore Princess Diana’s three-strand pearl bracelet, a quiet tribute to the late princess.
Prince William, the Prince of Wales, rode on horseback alongside the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh, underscoring the working core of the monarchy on display. Absent again were the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who have remained outside the fold of official royal events.
Though Charles’s actual birthday falls on Nov. 14, the tradition of marking an “official” summer birthday dates back generations and is timed to improve the odds of fair weather for the outdoor parade. The custom became an annual fixture after King George III ascended the throne in 1760, and the modern ceremony has come to symbolize continuity at the heart of the institution.
The parade concluded with the customary balcony appearance, where the assembled royals waved to crowds packed along the Mall as military aircraft streaked overhead. For a monarchy that has weathered health scares and family rifts in recent years, the smoothly choreographed spectacle offered a portrait of stability — and a visible sign of the Princess of Wales’s steady return to the public stage.
Originally reported by Fox News.