March music, horses and hundreds of red-uniformed soldiers with bearskin hats: for the first time since his accession to the throne, British King Charles III. (74) was honored with the birthday parade in London.
The King looked visibly touched as he and other members of the Royal Family waved to the cheering crowd at the conclusion of Trooping the Color from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. At the same time, dozens of Royal Air Force planes and helicopters thundered over the palace. The crowd sang the national anthem “God Save the King”. Volleys of cannon were fired in Green Park and at the Tower of London.
Charles on horseback
In sunshine and a light breeze, the procession with 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 members of military bands had previously moved through central London. Tens of thousands of royal fans had gathered along the route to take a look at the spectacle and the royals.
Charles rode in front of his son and heir to the throne Prince William (40), his sister Princess Anne (72) and his youngest brother Prince Edward (59) with a bearskin hat that protruded deep into his face. All four wore uniforms.
In a carriage followed 75-year-old Queen Camilla, also in a red uniform, and Princess Kate (41) in a green outfit and Kate and William’s three children: nine-year-old Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis (5). While the two boys wore dark jackets with a red tie, eight-year-old Charlotte wore a white dress with a wide collar and a large red bow across her chest.
And it was once again the youngest who received the most attention with his blunders. Prince Louis held his nose as he drove in the carriage – probably because of the horse manure – apparently played motorcycling with outstretched arms and saluted like a little soldier to the delight of Royal fans. Charles didn’t seem to have noticed what his grandson was doing. In any case, the British tabloid “Daily Mail” headlined “Prince Louis wraps the masses around his finger (again)!”
Attempted assassination of Elizabeth II. 1981
The procession route led from Buckingham Palace along the straight boulevard “The Mall” and from there to the parade ground at Horse Guards Parade, where the king inspected his troops. He remained in the saddle throughout the ceremony. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September last year, last endured this hardship in 1986 at the age of 60.
In 1981, the Queen was even attempted to be assassinated during the parade when a man fired six shots at her from the audience. He missed, however, and the queen rode on undeterred. Charles’ first parade passed without incident.
The name “Trooping the Color” refers to the presentation of the colors of the participating regiments, also known as “colour”. The event was characterized by the foot soldiers of the Household Division – the royal bodyguard – with their red parade uniforms and bearskin hats, who marched past the king on the parade ground.
Air Show of the Royal Air Force
The conclusion and climax of “Trooping the Color” is always the overflight of military planes and helicopters from the Royal Air Force over Buckingham Palace, while the royal family waves to the crowd from the balcony. This year, the air show was even bigger than usual because it had to be canceled almost completely at the coronation of King Charles on May 6 due to the weather.
This time there were significantly fewer members of the Royal Family at the performance than in previous years. Charles’ parents, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, have since died. But Charles’ brother Prince Andrew (63) with his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie as well as Prince Harry (38) and Duchess Meghan (41) were also missing.
70 planes and helicopters thundered over the palace. These include historic World War II aircraft such as the Lancaster Bomber and the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. A formation of 18 Eurofighter jets formed the king’s Latin initials “CR” (Carolus Rex). To finish off, the Red Arrows aerobatic team colored the sky white, red and blue (the colors of the Union Jack).
“Trooping the Color” always takes place in June, regardless of the monarch’s actual birthday (Charles on November 14; Queen Elizabeth II once on April 21), because that’s when the weather is usually at its best in England. Despite the clouds, it was dry in London on Saturday and not quite as hot as in the previous days, when the thermometer showed almost 30 degrees. The tradition goes back to 1760.
Meanwhile, Prince William, who has been overshadowed by his brother Harry in the media for the past few months, gave a rare interview to The Times, which was published on Saturday. In it he outlined his commitment to the fight against homelessness and announced that he would also tackle the problem with the land and real estate portfolio that was now available to him as Prince of Wales. How exactly, but he did not want to reveal.
