Global Courant
Britain’s King Charles celebrated his first official birthday parade as a sovereign on Saturday. He rode horseback to inspect soldiers in a ceremony that has been an annual event since 1760.
The parade, known as “Trooping the Colour”, comes just weeks after Charles’ coronation on May 6, another ceremony featuring soldiers marching in scarlet coats and bearskin fur caps in central London, accompanied by music played by military bands.
By appearing on horseback, Charles, 74, is reviving a tradition his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, abandoned in 1986 when she was 60.
In what is the British Army’s annual tribute to the monarch, Charles was greeted with a royal salute and inspected soldiers in front of 8,000 spectators, followed by his son the Prince of Wales, his sister Princess Anne and his brother the Duke of Edinburgh also. by horse.
Queen Camilla and Katherin, the Princess of Wales, followed in a carriage.
The colour, or regimental flag, which was flown in the ceremony belongs to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.
Charles then returned to Buckingham Palace with his family, where they will gather on the building’s famous balcony to watch a fly-past of about 70 military planes and helicopters.
Clear skies mean crowds gathered along the route between the Mall and Horse Guard’s Parade will see a full air show, including Typhoon fighters and Red Arrows, jets that were unable to make it to the coronation parade due to low cloud cover.
The C-130 Hercules will also participate, the last ceremonial flight of the transport aircraft before it retires after nearly 60 years of service.
Charles became king when his mother Queen Elizabeth died in September at the age of 96. Trooping the Color marks the British monarch’s official birthday and is usually held in June. Charles’s actual birthday is November 14.
