KING CHARLES III'S BIRTHDAY; TROOPING THE COLOUR

King Charles III broke royal custom by riding in a carriage during the 2025 Trooping the Colour parade, marking his official birthday amid cancer treatment. The British monarch, who usually rides a horse, participated in a parade from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and returned on Saturday, June 14, in honor of his birthday. However, 76-year-old King Charles and his 77-year-old wife, Queen Camilla, traveled in a carriage, breaking the years old tradition.
For his third trooping as King, the monarch wore a classic military uniform for the important occasion, while Camilla donned an all-white ensemble with a matching hat.This year the King had requested the Royal Family taking part in the parade to wear black armbands, as a mark of respect to the victims of the Air India plane crash, Buckingham Palace said.
King Charles III also requested a minute's silence, which would come after his inspection of the parade, in recognition of "the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy", a Palace spokesman said.
The head of state and senior royals riding in the ceremony wore black armbands. On horseback and wearing the armbands was the Royal Colonels, the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel Scots Guards.
The Queen, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh were also among members of the royal family watching the event.
Following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles revived the riding tradition for the Trooping the Colour procession in 2023. The last time Queen Elizabeth rode a horse in the royal parade was in 1986.
However, King Charles' appearance during the parade on horseback was for a brief period. In February 2024, he made his cancer diagnosis public and attended Trooping the Colour in a carriage. Since then, the King has been receiving cancer treatment.
The Royal Air Force flypast was also anticipated by royal fans from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where they would view Prince William, 42, Kate Middleton, 43, and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.