Royal Family

King Charles Might Change A Historic Trooping The Colour Tradition

The reigning monarch is “determined to attend” the royal event.

King Charles III.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

As the Kate Middleton photo-editing scandal continues to grip the internet, many senior members of the royal family are still preparing for annual scheduled events. For King Charles, the historic Trooping the Colour parade is next on the docket, but the reigning monarch might have to make significant changes to this year’s procession.

Trooping the Colour has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for 260 years. As noted on the official Royal Family website, the parade sees “1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians” walk through the streets of London in a “great display of military precision, horsemanship, and fanfare to mark the Sovereign’s official birthday.”

Per the Daily Mail, Charles is “determined to attend” the celebratory parade on June 15 despite his ongoing cancer treatment.

As illustrated by Queen Elizabeth II, reigning monarchs often ride horseback at the annual event while physically able to do so. The late Queen last rode her beloved steed Burmese at the 1986 parade. In the decades following, she attended in a royal carriage.

At this year’s procession, sources claim the King might similarly travel by carriage instead of on horseback.

King Charles III at the 2023 Trooping the Colour parade. Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

It would be change from 2023, when he rode horeback. He lead the central London procession ahead of Prince William and two of his three siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward. Not far behind were Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Queen Camilla, who rode past the crowds of royal spectators in a horse-drawn carriage.