The King has decided. This year, the more than 260-year-old tradition will continue. On the second Saturday in June, HM King Charles III celebrates his official birthday with the Trooping the Colour ceremony. This year it will take place on June 10. This impressive bicentennial ceremony is a grandiose parade in which the King’s troops, Household Division, Horse Guards, and His Majesty the King participate and take the salute. Over 1400 officers and men are at the parade, and 200 horses and over 400 musicians are playing together. The King travels in a royal procession from Buckingham Palace down the Mall, accompanied by an escort from the Household Cavalry. Those who want to attend can watch the parade live on the BBC or directly on-site.
The Story of Trooping The Colour
The colors of a regiment embody its spirit and excellent service to the homeland it represents and to its fallen soldiers. On the battlefield, a regiment’s colors or flags were used as rallying points. Regiments had their ensigns march slowly between the ranks with their flags so that soldiers could recognize their regiment’s flags. Losing a flag or capturing an enemy flag was considered the greatest disgrace or glory on the battlefield. Trooping the Color is an ancient ceremony where battalions participate with their respective companies. Each flag group marches its flag through the ranks so that each soldier can see it is intact. This was done before and after each battle. This ceremony has been maintained over time and is mainly ceremonial today.
Since 1748, Trooping the Colour has also been known to mark the official birthday of the British Sovereign. On this day, the Government Gazette also publishes the list of “Birthday Honours,” which recognizes the official birthday of the reigning British monarch by appointing various individuals to be national or dynastic orders or awarding decorations and medals. The “Birthday Honors” are one of two annual honor lists and the “New Year Honors.” Trooping the Color allows the Household Division troops to pay a personal tribute to the sovereign with great pomp and pageantry. Crowds lining the route and St. James’s Park listen to the sounds of the bands and riders.
Trooping of the Colour Timeline
1784
The Official Day
After King Charles II held the first Trooping the Colour during his reign, it was decided that this parade would be used to celebrate the sovereign’s official birthday.
1811-1820
No Trooping of the Colour
Due to King George III’s illness, the Trooping the Colors custom is suspended.
1876
The disappointing day
There is no birthday honor roll, which brings a lot of disappointment.
1901
King Edward VII.
Since the reign of King Edward VII, the sovereign personally attends the salute.
1986
The Queen’s horse
Queen Elizabeth II rides into Trooping the Colour on her horse Burmese for the last time. At all subsequent Trooping the Colour events, she travels in a carriage from the Royal Stables.
5 FACTS ABOUT TROOPING THE COLOR
The Balcony Elite
The Balcony is a big deal, and the participants vary. However, it always includes the monarch and his or her spouse and the first and second heirs to the throne with their spouses.
The first time on the Balcony
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to use the Balcony to greet her subjects.
The princess of the people
Princess Diana attended her first Trooping the Colour, riding in a carriage with Prince Andrew. In contrast, her future husband, Prince Charles, rode on horseback.
Betrayal at the Trooping
On the same day Princess Diana participated in Trooping the Colour for the first time, Queen Elizabeth II, then 55, was riding to the ceremony when 17-year-old Marcus Simon Sarjeant fired blanks at her.
Wearing the colors
Only battalions of front-line infantry regiments carried flags. Rifle regiments did not form a front and never carried flags. Instead, their battle honors are worn on their drums. The exception is the Honourable Artillery Company, which has a flag stand and guns.
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