LONDON (AP) – King Charles III rode on horseback Saturday to take part in his first Trooping the Colour ceremony as U.K. monarch, inspecting hundreds of soldiers and horses in a spectacular annual military display at central London’s Horse Guards Parade.
Charles, 74, the colonel in chief, received the royal salute and watched as the most prestigious regiments in the U.K. army paraded to mark his official birthday.
It was the first time in more than 30 years that a U.K. monarch has taken part in the pomp-filled ceremony on horseback.
King Charles III departs Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, central London, as King Charles III celebrates his first official birthday since becoming sovereign on Saturday, June 17, 2023. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
King Charles III saluting during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Left to right: Prince William, Prince of Wales; Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh; King Charles III; and Princess Anne, Princess Royal are seen leaving Buckingham Palace on horseback during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London, England. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
Left to right: Prince William, Prince of Wales; Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh; King Charles III; and Princess Anne, Princess Royal are seen leaving Buckingham Palace on horseback during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Carriages depart Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade, central London, as King Charles III celebrates his first official birthday since becoming sovereign. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
Left to right: the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Princess Royal salute during the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 17, 2023. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
King Charles III and Prince William, Prince of Wales during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Neil Mockford/Getty Images)
Prince William, Prince of Wales during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images)
King Charles III, wearing a military uniform and bearskin hat, rides on horseback along The Mall during Trooping the Colour King’s Birthday Parade in London, United Kingdom on June 17, 2023. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Earlier, Charles’ eldest son, Prince William, and the king’s siblings, Prince Edward and Princess Anne, also rode on horseback in procession from Buckingham Palace. All the royals were dressed in red and gold tunics and tall black bearskin hats, matching the uniforms worn by many of the 1,400 soldiers taking part.
Others in the royal family, including Queen Camilla, Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her three young children, rode in horse-drawn carriages as thousands of people thronged the Mall, the grand avenue outside Buckingham Palace, to watch the pageantry.
Catherine, Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London, England. (Neil Mockford/Getty Images)
Queen Camilla, Prince George (right), Prince Louis, the Princess of Wales (left), and Princess Charlotte ride in a carriage at the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 17, 2023. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
Trooping the Color is essentially a grand birthday parade to honor the reigning monarch. The annual ceremony is a tradition that dates back more than 260 years.
Huge crowds turn out each June to watch the display, which begins with a procession involving horses, musicians and hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial uniform from Buckingham Palace. The monarch then inspects their troops, including both foot guards and horse guards. Gun salutes and a crowd-pleasing military flyby over the palace typically round out the celebrations.
Charles’ actual birthday is Nov. 14, 1948. But U.K. monarchs have traditionally celebrate two birthdays – their real one and an official one – to ensure that public celebrations can take place in warm summer weather.
Charles’ late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, always held the Trooping the Color birthday parade in June, while she celebrated her actual April birthday privately with family.
Guardsmen parade during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Rob Pinney/Getty Images)
King Charles III during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
(DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the Household Division during the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 17, 2023. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
King Charles III salutes during the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 17, 2023. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
Members of the Household Division Foot Guards march along The Mall during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
From left to right: Prince William, Prince of Wales; Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh; King Charles III; and Princess Anne, Princess Royal ride in the procession down the Mall on horseback during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023, in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Troops advance down the Mall during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
King Charles III (center) rides back to Buckingham Palace after the King’s Birthday Parade “Trooping the Colour” on June 17, 2023. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment return along the Mall towards Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Crowds watch members of the Household Division during the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, central London on June 17, 2023. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
The central part of the parade features a battle flag – or the “Color” – being displayed and marched past troops and the monarch.
This is a ceremonial reenactment of the way regimental flags were once displayed for soldiers on the battlefield to provide a crucial rallying point if they became disoriented or separated from their unit.
The flags were traditionally described as “Colors” because they displayed the uniform colors and insignia worn by soldiers of different units.
A different flag is trooped each year. This year the “Color” was the King’s Color of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.
Saturday was the first time a monarch has ridden on horseback at the event since Elizabeth did so in 1986.
Members of the Blues and Royals Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ride on horseback during the Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The queen rode her favorite horse, called Burmese, to 18 Trooping the Color ceremonies until the black mare retired in 1986. After that she decided to use a carriage for the event instead.
Charles also rode on horseback for the spectacle last year, when as heir to the throne he inspected the troops on behalf of his mother. Elizabeth died last September at the age of 96.
The birthday parade typically reaches its climax when, at the end of the military procession, the royal family lines up on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to watch a spectacular flyby.
The Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, usually wows the crowds as they fly in formation leaving plumes of red, white and blue vapor trails.
The Red Arrows take part in the fly past as they fly over The Mall after the Royal family attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday, June 17, 2023. (Jeff Moore/PA Images via Getty Images)
Typhoon fighter jets fly over The Mall in formation spelling the initials “CR” for “Charles Rex” in the sky during the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday, June 17, 2023, in London. (Photo by Jeff Moore/PA Images via Getty Images)
From left to right: Sir Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince George of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Royal Air Force during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023 in London, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Right to left: Princess Anne, Princess Royal; Prince George of Wales; Prince Louis of Wales; Catherine, Princess of Wales; Princess Charlotte of Wales; and Prince William, Prince of Wales stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Royal Air Force during Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images)
(Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
King Charles III with Queen Camilla wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2023. (Neil Mockford/Getty Images)
This year, the flyby was even more impressive, because a similar display on Charles’ coronation day in May had to be scaled back because of bad weather. Around 70 aircraft took part Saturday, including Spitfire and Hurricane fighters from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Eighteen Typhoon fighter jets flying in precise formation spelt out “CR” – “Charles Rex” – in the sky as the royal family and thousands of spectators cheered.