London
CNN
—
King Charles III revived a royal tradition by riding on horseback in the first Trooping the Colour of his reign, which marks the British sovereign’s official birthday.
The traditional military spectacle on Saturday is a staple in the royal diary drawing huge crowds to central London. Charles’ actual birthday is in November and is typically celebrated privately.
He joined 1,500 soldiers, 300 horses and hundreds of musicians as they filed the short distance from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in St James’s Park for the ceremony watched by members of the royal family.
It was the first time a reigning monarch has ridden in the procession since Queen Elizabeth II in 1986.
He was joined on horseback by the royal colonels including Prince William, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, Princess Anne, Gold Stick in Waiting and Colonel of the Blues and Royals and Prince Edward, who is Colonel of the London Guards. The event is described by the palace as “a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare.”
A horse-drawn carriage carrying the Queen, the Princess of Wales and her children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – followed. The royal party was accompanied by a Sovereign’s Mounted Escort of soldiers from the Household Cavalry’s Life Guards and Blues and Royals.
Well-wishers dressed in fascinators and draped in Union flags gathered early to claim prime positions along the Mall outside the royal residence in the hours ahead of the parade.
By the time the ceremonial spectacle stepped off, thousands were waiting in the summer sunshine. A cascade of enthusiastic cheering could be heard as the royals processed down the Mall for the short journey to the parade ground. Many held their cell phones aloft to capture the moment family members passed by.
Bidisha Mamata, broadcaster and royal watcher, told CNN there was “a real sense of celebration.”
“The coronation was very serious … there was a lot of medieval pageantry. This is much more military focused. This is so much more about connecting King Charles with his own history in the Marines, the RAF – he has a strong connection to the military,” she said.
The monarch is head of Britain’s armed forces and would traditionally lead an army into war. During the ceremony at Horse Guards, the monarch took the salute as Colonel in Chief of the Household Division’s seven regiments as the national anthem played. He was then given a chance to review and approve his army.
Queen Camilla joined her husband to watch the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards troop their color, or regimental flag, in front of hundreds of Guardsmen and officers. The regiment carried out intricate battlefield drill maneuvers to music, with Kensington Palace previously describing this year’s musical program as having “a distinctly Welsh theme,” with new compositions from the band specially for the occasion.
After the parade, the royal party will return to Buckingham Palace and watch an extended military flypast. A similar display had to be scaled back after the King’s coronation last month because of poor weather.
Around 70 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force will take to the skies from 15 locations around the UK before converging to fly across the British capital, according to the Ministry of Defence. The impressive aerial presentation will include aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial flight, the C-130 Hercules on its final ceremonial flight, Typhoon fighter jets and culminate with a display from the famous RAF Red Arrows.
“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,” Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton said ahead of the event.
“We have planned a fitting and appropriate tribute for our monarch, that should be a true spectacle for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.”
There will also be a 41-gun salute in nearby Green Park from The King’s Troop, with a second salute of 62 guns fired at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company, the City of London’s Army Reserves.
