King Charles Arrives at Trooping the Colour Riding a Wave of Royal Momentum

Stephanie PetitSat, June 13, 2026 at 10:08 AM UTC

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Queen Camilla and King Charles on June 13, 2026 at Trooping the Colour in LondonCredit: Marcin Nowak/LNP/Shutterstock -

King Charles arrived at Trooping the Colour, the annual celebration of the British monarch's birthday

The King rode in a horse-drawn carriage with Queen Camilla, after stopping riding horseback in the London parade in recent years

While the 2026 Trooping the Colour marks the fourth time the event is being held in King Charles' honor, the royal has been appearing at the parade since he was 3

King Charles and Queen Camilla are back at one of the biggest events on the royal calendar: Trooping the Colour.

The King, 77, and Camilla, 78, stepped out on Saturday, June 13, for the annual parade that serves as the annual public celebration of the British monarch's birthday. This year marks the fourth time that the event has honored King Charles, who took the throne in 2022 after his mother Queen Elizabeth's death.

King Charles arrived at his annual birthday parade amid one of the most positive stretches of his reign. Following a successful North American visit for the King and Princess Kate's widely praised return to the international stage in Italy, the monarch led the Windsors into their biggest annual public gathering with renewed momentum.

Kate Middleton and Prince Louis at Trooping the Colour in London on June 13, 2026Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

Keeping with tradition, they appeared riding in a horse-drawn carriage that took them through the streets of London. The procession takes the royals from Buckingham Palace down The Mall through St. James's Park, and it finishes at Horse Guards Parade, where the main ceremonial inspection occurs. Afterward, they'll take the same route back to the palace, where royals will gather on the balcony to watch a flypast.

Queen Camilla wore a red silk crepe dress by Fiona Clare inspired by the Grenadier Guards uniform, paired with a black Philip Treacy beret featuring a white plume and the regiment's cap badge. She completed the look with her Grenadier Guards brooch.

King Charles marked his first Trooping the Colour as monarch in 2023. Although he rode on horseback during the parade that year, he has opted to ride in a carriage for the procession in the years after announcing his cancer diagnosis in 2024. (He continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer, but announced in late 2025 that his treatments would be reduced in the new year.)

Queen Elizabeth also rode on horseback in Trooping the Colour until 1987, when she was 60, and then switched to participating in a coach.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Trooping the Colour on June 13, 2026Credit: Matt Crossick/Shutterstock

Prince William, Prince Edward and Princess Anne continue to take part in the event on horseback, with Anne showcasing her equestrian skills when her horse started misbehaving during the 2024 parade.

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While the 2026 Trooping the Colour marks the fourth time the event is being held in King Charles' honor, the royal has been appearing at the parade since he was 3. At his Trooping the Colour debut in 1951, the future monarch rode in a carriage with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and his aunt, Princess Margaret, while his mother, who was still a princess at the time, rode on horseback in the parade.

The parade's origins trace back to the battlefield, when a regiment's flags, known as "colours," signaled a rallying point for soldiers. "In order to ensure that every soldier would be able to recognize their colours, the flag would be marched or 'trooped' regularly 'round the ranks," according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. "A regiment's colours came to have huge significance for serving soldiers, and the gain or loss of colours were seen as decisive moments in battle."

According to the British Army, the ceremonial presentation of the military's colours is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II, who ruled from 1660 to 1685. The parade was first formally linked to the monarch's birthday during the reign of King George II in 1748, and there was a practical reason for the event not being celebrated on the monarch's actual birth date.

"With a November birthday being too cold for a celebratory parade, he tied his celebrations in with the annual Trooping the Colour military parade," Royal Museums Greenwich explains.

Trooping the Colour got a permanent spot on the royal calendar following the accession of King George III in 1760.

The military procession continues to serve as the official birthday for the reigning sovereign, regardless of when their actual birthday falls. Queen Elizabeth's birthday was in April, while King Charles' is in November, but both monarchs opted to hold the public celebrations in June.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”