England. First “Trooping the Color” birthday parade for King Charles

For the first time since his accession to the throne, Britain’s King Charles III. (74) was honored with a “Trooping the Color” birthday parade on Saturday. The march of 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 military groups through central London began just after 11 a.m. CEST (10 a.m. local time). Tens of thousands of people lined the route to witness the spectacle and see the royal family in attendance.

The king and other members of the royal family left the palace on horseback or in carriages to join the procession.

Charles, dressed in a red uniform and bearskin hat, rode ahead of his son and heir to the throne Prince William, 40, his sister Princess Anne, 72, and his younger brother Prince Edward, 59.

Queen Camilla (75) followed in a carriage in a red uniform, as did Princess Kate (41) in a green dress and Kate and William’s three children: Prince George (9), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince Louis (Prince Louis). 5).

The route leads from Buckingham Palace along the dead-straight boulevard “The Mall” and from there to the Horse Guards Parade Ground, where the King inspects his troops.

The event is characterized by the foot soldiers of the Household Division – the royal bodyguard – with their red marching uniforms and bearskin caps. Then the same route to the palace.

The conclusion and climax of “Trooping the Color” is always an 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 coronation of King Charles on May 6th was expected to be bigger than usual as the air show was greatly curtailed due to bad weather.

“Trooping the Color” is always in June, regardless of the monarch’s actual birthday (Charles on November 14; Queen Elizabeth II on April 21), because the weather in England is usually very good. Despite the clouds, it was dry in London on Saturday and not as hot as the previous days when the thermometer showed almost 30 degrees. The tradition goes back to 1760.

SDA