King Charles is rising to the challenge as he’s announced a major decision Queen Elizabeth hadn’t made for decades.
- His Majesty is set to ride in the first Trooping the Color of his reign on June 17 as his official birthday is marked.
- King Charles’ decision comes 37 years after Queen Elizabeth last rode on horseback in the parade.
- This royal news comes as we revealed King Charles’ heartbreakingly sweet tribute to Queen Camilla’s family at his latest engagement that you might not have noticed.
King Charles might’ve only just returned from his relaxing post-coronation solo break in Transylvania but he's already in the midst of a busy few months. It’s been announced by Buckingham Palace that he and Queen Camilla will be heading to Scotland in July. Whilst ahead of this the Royal Family have Royal Ascot to look forward to and King Charles has hosted the King and Queen of Belgium at Windsor Castle and headed to Yorkshire to honor the Flying Scotsman’s 100th anniversary.
In amongst all of these significant appearances is the upcoming Trooping the Color parade as King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated on June 17. Now King Charles has made a historic decision about his role in the day that could see him embracing a serious challenge.
Not only will Trooping the Color 2023 be King Charles’ first official birthday parade since he became King, but it will also see him ride on horseback as part of it. This is something that Queen Elizabeth used to do but she hadn’t done this since 1986, meaning that it’s been 37 years since a British monarch last rode during the parade. According to The Times, Queen Elizabeth's favorite horse retired after this and she apparently decided to ride in a carriage rather than train up a new horse.
This makes King Charles’ decision to do so when all eyes will be on him all the more important. Perhaps as this is his first Trooping the Color as King he thought it was especially important to ride as his late mother did earlier on in her reign. It could be said that King Charles is rising to the challenge of the occasion as all eyes will be on him as he carries out this high-profile role.
The weather could also provide another challenge as Prince William issued a powerful message of gratitude on June 10 to the Welsh Guards who took part in the Colonel’s Review amid “difficult conditions”. The review acts as a kind of dress rehearsal for Trooping the Color and the temperature was so hot in London that several guardsmen are understood to have fainted.
The Met Office forecast for London and the South East is dry, settled and very warm for the period June 13-June 17 with “very warm” conditions inland. If it stays this warm when the regiments are out on parade in their full uniforms on Saturday then King Charles will also be experiencing this. During Trooping the Color King Charles will also receive the salute and carry out an inspection of the regiments.
After he rides back to the palace he and other members of the Royal Family will make their iconic balcony appearance as they watch the RAF Flypast. Although King Charles might not have ridden in the parade as monarch before, last year he, Prince William and Princess Anne rode on horseback in what was the final Trooping the Color of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. With this experience under his belt, King Charles will surely be ready and know what to expect from his own milestone event.
