The King’s official birthday – Trooping the Colour
Members of the Royal Family, and many thousands of excited tourists, gathered to celebrate The King’s official birthday with the annual Trooping the Colour Parade. This event highlighted the finest military pageantry and honored the Monarch’s strong connections to the Armed Forces.
After weeks of gruelling rehearsal and painstaking preparation, two hundred and fifty musicians, twenty pipers, two hundred and forty military working horses, an extremely large dog, and almost a thousand dual role soldiers of the British Army’s Household Division delivered a magnificent spectacle for The King, the Nation, and the World in London on Saturday 15 June.
The King followed tradition by donning the Irish Guards’ tunic as the Guard of Honour Order for the Trooping the Colour. The Sovereign always wears the uniform of the Regiment whose Colour is being trooped. Meanwhile, the Queen, serving as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, wore her distinctive Grenadier Guards military brooch. Their Majesties arrived at the Parade in the historic Scottish State Coach, one of the oldest coaches in the Royal Mews. The Princess of Wales, along with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, traveled in the iconic Glass Coach.
The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal, and The Duke of Edinburgh participated in the parade on horseback, riding Darby, Noble, and Sir John respectively. They were dressed in the uniforms of the Regiments where they serve as Royal Colonels: the Welsh Guards, the Blues and Royals, and the Scots Guards.
The privilege of Trooping the Colour rotates among the five Foot Guards regiments, and this year, it was assigned to Number 9 Company of the Irish Guards. Founded by Queen Victoria in 1900, the Irish Guards have served the Monarchy and the nation for nearly 125 years. This year marks the first instance where one of the Irish Guards’ Public Duties Companies will Troop the Colour during a Sovereign’s Birthday Parade and the inaugural occasion for the Irish Guards to perform in front of The King.
Number 9 and Number 12 Irish Guards Public Duties Companies were created in September 2022, during the final days of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Over the past year, the Irish Guards have been deployed 17 times across six countries. The King holds the position of Colonel in Chief of the seven Guards regiments. After the parade on Horse Guards, the Irish Guards march up The Mall as part of the Royal Procession. The Trooping of their Colour completed, their duties are far from over. They will immediately take over responsibility as the new King’s Guard at Buckingham Palace for the next 24 hours.
The annual event of Trooping of the Colour has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for more than 260 years, a reassuring touchstone of stability in an ever changing, often uncertain world.
Princess of Wales
For her first public appearance since December, Kate looked gorgeous in an elegant white midi dress. Princess Kate returned to the public eye today to join in on this year’s Trooping the Colour.
