Trooping the Colour: A Promising First and a Poignant Last

As King Charles III took the salute as sovereign for the first time, some memories of King George VI's final Trooping in 1950

King Charles III leading his official birthday parade, flanked by Prince William (far left), Prince Edward, and Princess Anne

The sun shone in London on a memorable Saturday this weekend as 74-year-old Charles III led the annual Trooping the Colour parade honoring him on his official birthday. He appeared on horseback along with two of his siblings, Princess Anne, Colonel of the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment, and Prince Edward, the new Colonel of the London Guards, as well as Prince William, who has taken over from his father as Colonel of the Welsh Guards. The King is Colonel-in-Chief of all the Guards Regiments, and he wore the full-dress uniform of the Welsh Guards, which was Trooping its Colour.

Queen Camilla wore a red silk coat dress reminiscent of a Grenadier uniform and the Princess of Wales chose a dress in keeping with the Irish Guards as well as a shamrock brooch

The three Wales children—nine-year-old Prince George, five-year-old Prince Louis, and eight-year-old Princess Charlotte—let their emotions show during their carriage ride!

Joining the senior members of the royal family at the center of the pageantry were Queen Camilla—Colonel of the Grenadier Guards--and Catherine, the Princess of Wales—Colonel of the Irish Guards. They rode in a carriage with William and Catherine’s children, Princes George and Louis, and Princess Charlotte, who could scarcely contain their excitement.

It was the first time a reigning monarch had ridden at the Trooping since 1986, when 60-year-old Queen Elizabeth II led the centuries old ceremony on her favorite horse, Burmese.

After he retired that year, she continued to be a keen rider, but she didn’t wish to train with a new horse for the parade so opted to ride in a carriage instead. She led every parade until last year when at age 96 she let Prince Charles substitute for her in the historic Platinum Jubilee Trooping celebrating her 70 years on the throne. The Irish Guards gave her a special salute as she stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony: Instead of the traditional “eyes right,” they all looked directly up at their commander-in-chief.

An equally moving comparison recalls 1950, when 55-year-old King George VI, ailing with cardiovascular disease, was physically unable to travel from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade on horseback. Dressed as Colonel-in-Chief of the Coldstream Guards, he rode alone in a landau.