LONDON: Britain’s King Charles III Charles inspected the troops at his inaugural birthday parade on horseback on Saturday (Jun 17), the first time the monarch has ridden at the event since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1986.
The annual Trooping the Colour parade marks the British sovereign’s official birthday.
Charles was followed on horseback by his eldest son and heir, Prince William, Charles’ brother Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, and sister Anne.
Queen Camilla and William’s wife Catherine, the Princess of Wales followed in a carriage.
The colourful display of regimental precision and pageantry is the first of 74-year-old Charles’s reign.
Charles’s actual birthday is on Nov 14 but British sovereigns celebrate twice – once in private and again in public.
The June parade tradition began in 1748 under King George II, who wanted a celebration in better summer weather, as his own birthday was on Oct 30.
The televised event kicked off with a procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in central London.
About 1,400 soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses are taking part, led in the parade by Juno, a 10-year-old shire mare, alongside three other Drum Horses – Perseus, Atlas and Apollo.
Drum Horses are the most senior animals in the army and hold the rank of major. They are traditionally named after figures from Greek mythology.
The minutely choreographed event has its origins in the display of colours or flags of different regiments to allow their soldiers to identify them in battle.
The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards will troop, or parade, their colour up and down the ranks this year.
