Crowds gathered in London for Trooping the Colour, the ceremonial parade marking King Charles III's official birthday. The King and Queen rode in a carriage from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade while senior royals acted as mounted colonels. The event culminated with a Red Arrows flypast watched by the Royal Family from the palace balcony.
Trooping the Colour: Crowds Flock To Celebrate King Charles III's Official Birthday
[Reuters]
Crowds gathered in central London to watch the annual Trooping the Colour parade, the ceremonial event that marks King Charles III's official birthday.
The procession set off from Buckingham Palace with the King and Queen Camilla travelling by carriage down The Mall towards Horse Guards Parade. Members of the Royal Family took part in traditional roles: the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh rode on horseback serving as royal colonels, while the Princess of Wales, her three children and the Duchess of Edinburgh travelled by carriage.
Pageantry and Tradition
Trooping the Colour is steeped in military pageantry and history, featuring marching bands, foot guards and mounted regiments. Spectators lined the route to see the colourful uniforms and coordinated displays that are central to the ceremony.
Grand Finale
As is customary, the celebrations concluded with a Red Arrows flypast, observed by the Royal Family from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The spectacle of aircraft overhead provided a dramatic finish to the day’s festivities.
Where: From Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade
Highlights: Mounted royal colonels, carriage procession, military parade and Red Arrows flypast
The Massed Bands of the Household Division makes up part of the 400 musicians involved in the event [Getty Images]
The Princess of Wales, wearing a pale blue Catherine Walker jacket and a Philip Treacy hat, travelled in a carriage alongside her children [Getty Images]
Prince George and Princess Charlotte sat opposite their mother [Getty Images]
Prince William (left) rode on a horse called Darby, Prince Edward (centre) was on Sir John, and Princess Anne (right) was on Noble [Getty Images]
The King and Queen rode in an Ascot Landau carriage, purchased during the reign of Queen Victoria. The King wore the uniform of the Grenadier Guards featuring the cypher of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II [Getty Images]
Sir Keir Starmer and Lady Victoria Starmer were among dignatories watching the annual event [Getty Images]
The Duchess of Edinburgh, wife of the Duke of Edinburgh, and Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, husband of the Princess Royal, rode in the first carriage in the procession [Getty Images]
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