Trooping the Colour: What is this military parade for King Charles III’s official birthday?

Britain’s monarch King Charles III is celebrating his first “official” birthday today (17 June). However, it is not his actual birthday as the monarch was born on 14 November 1948. The United Kingdom (UK) will mark the occasion with a military parade called Trooping the Colour, which is expected to attract a large crowd who gather on the streets waving flags to catch a glimpse of the royals. Why does King Charles III have two birthdays? What will happen at Trooping the Colour? Let’s take a closer look. Monarchs with two birthdays The tradition of celebrating the British monarch’s birthday in summer dates back to the reign of King Charles II, who ruled from 1660 to 1685, People magazine reported citing the Household Division – a unit of the British military. This unit reportedly has seven British Army Regiments that serve the king. In 1748, when King George II was the ruler, it was decided to mark the official birthday of the British monarch with the Trooping the Colour parade in summer. Like Charles, George II was born in November when the weather is cold and “far from ideal”, noted CNN.

For more than 260 years, this military parade is organised annually to celebrate the official birthday of Britain’s reigning sovereign.

During the 70-year tenure of King Charles III’s mother and predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II, the Trooping the Colour was popularly known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade. Last year in June, donning a light blue coat dress and hat, Queen Elizabeth had appeared twice on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for her Trooping the Colour celebrations. It was a big event as it marked the queen’s Platinum Jubilee. [caption id=“attachment_12752052” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Queen Elizabeth II appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour ceremony last June. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September last year, had her actual birthday on 21 April. This is the first Trooping the Colour parade since Elizabeth’s death and Charles ascending the throne. What is the Trooping the Colour parade? According to The Washington Post, the parade showcases “support for the monarch”, who is the technical head of the British armed forces. Each year, 14,00 soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians take part in what Buckingham Palace calls “a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare.” Let’s decode this annual military parade further. “Colour” stands for a flag that has the uniform colour and insignia of a specific army unit. As per The Washington Post, in previous times, “Regimental Colours” were required as rallying points on the battlefield in order to help troops distinguish their unit from others. “This was important because, without modern communications, it was all too easy for troops to become disoriented and separated from their unit during conflict,” says The Household Division’s website. Young officers would march between ranks of troops displaying their flags to let the soldiers know what their regiment’s colours looked like. This is where the word “trooping” arrives from. “So, what today is a great tradition began life as a vital and practical parade designed to aid unit recognition before a battle commenced,” says The Household Division website. Last week, the final rehearsal of Trooping the Colour, called the Colonel’s Review, had hit the headlines after at least three soldiers fainted due to the extremely hot weather.

ALSO READ: Prince Harry and Meghan ‘divorce’ rumours: Which British royals have called it quits before? What will happen at this year’s Trooping the Colour? Like every year, you can expect much pomp and show as Britain celebrates King Charles’ first official birthday. King Charles’ parade will begin at Buckingham Palace, from where he will go down The Mall to Horse Guard’s Parade, and then back again. As per Daily Mail, the parade will last for around two hours, starting at 10.25 am (2.35 pm IST) and ending at 12.25 pm (4.35 pm IST). King Charles is expected to ride a horse during the procession, the first time a reigning British monarch will do that for Trooping the Colour since 1986, when Queen Elizabeth last rode, as per Buckingham Palace. The marching troops will include Household Cavalry and the five regiments of foot guards – Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards, reported CNN. [caption id=“attachment_12752072” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The final rehearsal of this year’s Trooping the Colour was held on 10 June. AP[/caption] “Once the Sovereign has arrived at Horse Guard’s Parade in Whitehall, they are greeted by a Royal salute and carry out an inspection of the troops, who are fully trained and operational soldiers wearing the ceremonial uniform of red tunics and bearskin hats. After the military bands have performed, the escorted Regimental Colour, or flag, is processed down the ranks of soldiers. Over one hundred words of command are used by the Officer in Command of the Parade to direct the several hundred soldiers,” as per The Royal Family website. “Once the Foot Guards have marched past the Sovereign, they ride back to Buckingham Palace at the head of the soldiers, before taking the salute again at the Palace from a dais,” it added. As per Kensington Palace, this year’s musical programme will have “a distinctly Welsh theme,” with the troop performing new compositions, especially for the event. King Charles will later be joined by Queen Consort Camilla and other members of the royal family to watch the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards Troop their Colour, reported USA Today. The royals will also observe the military flypast by the Royal Air Force from the balcony at Buckingham Palace, which is scheduled for 1 pm (5.30 pm IST). With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.