Everything we know about who will Troop the Colour at Charles' birthday event

03 June 2024 , 11:10

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Trooping the Colour will take place on 15 June (Image: PA)

The countdown is on for one of the royal family's biggest annual events - the monarch's birthday parade, also known as Trooping the Colour.

The ceremonial military parade traditionally sees the royals out in force as over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians come together in a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare to mark the Sovereign's official big day.

This year's big event is taking place on Saturday 15 June, from 10am until 12.25, with the flypast scheduled to fly over Buckingham Palace at 1pm.

The annual event of Trooping of the Colour has marked the official birthday of the King or Queen for more than 260 years and is steeped in tradition. But this year will see some changes.

The Palace has confirmed that King Charles will still participate in the procession but amid his ongoing cancer treatment, he will ride in a carriage rather than on horseback. At last year's event, Charles proudly joined the procession riding his trusted steed, Noble. It was the first time in over 35 years that a monarch had taken an active part riding in the ceremony. He was joined on horseback by Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

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Princess Kate and Queen Camilla, meanwhile, rode in an open-topped carriage with Prince George , Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Fans will be hoping to see the three young royals at this year's event However, it's unclear whether their mother, the Princess of Wales, will attend following her own cancer diagnosis. Poignantly, it is the Irish Guards, the regiment of which she is colonel, who are trooping their colour this year.

Buckingham Palace are yet to confirm exactly which royals will appear on the balcony for the RAF flypast.

In years gone by, the late Queen used to invite all members of her extended family onto the balcony at Trooping the Colour. However, in 2023, the balcony was limited to working royals only, meaning there was no place for the King's younger disgraced brother Prince Andrew nor his estranged son Prince Harry.

It has also meant the likes of Princess Beatrice and Eugenie as well as Zara and Mike Tindall and Peter Phillips have not been seen on the balcony in recent years. But just recently, the royal cousins were called on to support Prince William when he hosted a palace garden party for his father - and went around chatting to the assembled guests .

And according to The Telegraph, this poses a question for the King ahead of the much-anticipated balcony appearance. Its royal editor Hannah Furness writes: "The Prince of Wales would be keen to extend similar invitations again, in the spirit of including the wider family, as his grandmother once did.

"The King, too, has seemed visibly buoyed by the company of his nieces and nephews, rarely looking happier than he did clasping Zara Tindall in a hug at the Royal Windsor Horse Show this month on his way back from cancer treatment. He must now decide what to do for this year's Trooping the Colour, in which the state of the Royal Family will be captured in that all-important 'balcony moment' displaying who is in and who is out."

Prince Harry is highly unlikely to attend given the fraught state of his relationship with both his father and brother William. Since dramatically quitting as working royals over four years ago, Harry and Meghan have not joined the royals for the eagerly-awaited Trooping the Colour balcony moment.

Last year, they stayed away from the event - however, the year before they did attend the parade and flypast, which took place during the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. But "after consideration", the late Queen decided to limit those on the balcony to working royals only.

Buckingham Palace said at the time: "After careful consideration, the Queen has decided this year's traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen."