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LONDON — It might have been bittersweet for some, another sign that a new era has begun, as Britain celebrated King Charles III’s official birthday on Saturday. celebrated with a military parade called “Trooping the Color”. It was his first as a sovereign, with 1,400 soldiers, 400 musicians and the show thieves, 200 horses.
The play was the same, but the actors had changed. There were the giant drummer horses, the blacksmiths with glittering axes, and the buglers. The Mall from Buckingham Palace to the grounds of Horse Guards Parade was a sea of red tunics.
The rush was respectable – but not huge.
They’ve been doing it for 260 years – since George II – and they’re very good at it.
King Charles gets his first birthday parade. Here’s what you should know.
For the past seven decades, this has been the annual honor bestowed upon Queen Elizabeth II – and last year the celebration was particularly grand, marking her platinum jubilee.
She died at her castle in Scotland in September. Then there was her funeral, with ten days of mourning, and then the coronation of Charles at Westminster Abbey in May.
The royal family has been seen almost constantly over the last year. Not only was the crown delivered, but Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, dominated the headlines with the release of their self-produced six-hour documentary for Netflix and Harry’s best-selling memoir, Spare. The book alleged that his father Charles, his brother Prince William and his stepmother, now Queen Camilla, were actively involved in press attacks against the couple, who now reside in the United States.
Harry and Meghan were invited but didn’t show up.
Anyway, there’s no golden carriage ride for Charles this time.
At the age of 74, Charles rode horseback during the two-hour parade. He eyed the troops and gave an elegant salute, his face mostly hidden by the high black bearskin hat on his head and the chin strap beneath his bottom lip.
A lifelong equestrian and former polo player, the new king looked confident in the saddle, his white-gloved hand gripping the reins of his steed named Noble, a gift to the palace from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Charles is the first king to attend the parade since 1950, the year before George VI’s death. Elizabeth appeared in sidesaddle in 1951 in place of her ailing father. The last time Elizabeth rode in trooping was in 1986, although she continued to ride privately on her estates well into her 90s.
On Saturday, Charles was joined on horseback by his son and heir apparent Prince William, the Prince of Wales, and two of the king’s siblings, the royal princess, Princess Anne. and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The disgraced Prince Andrew was nowhere to be seen.
In parade, “color” refers to a flag bearing the uniform color and insignia of a particular army unit. Before modern communications, “regimental colors” were used as rallying points in battle, to help soldiers figure out where they needed to be and to differentiate their unit from others. The term “trooping” refers to young officers who are tasked with marching between ranks of troops displaying their flag.
And although the parade is celebrating its “official birthday,” the June date is just an opportunity to offer a summer procession. Charles’ real birthday is November 14, 1948.
The BBC presenter of these ceremonies, Huw Edwards, called the entire show “very, very clever”.
One of his guests reported that the horses were then rewarded with “recovery rations” including carrots and apples. The king and queen could have something stronger.
No soldier fainted as the sky was overcast and temperatures exceeded 70 degrees. Earlier in the week, at least three soldiers collapsed in the heat of hotter days while training.
The new Queen Camilla, who wore a kind of fascinator hat made of bearskin, rode in a carriage. Beside her was Kate, the Duchess of Wales, and her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, aged five, who held their noses for a picture of the day for photographers.
Maybe it was the horses.
Upon returning to Buckingham Palace, the King and Queen and senior members of the Royal Family appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowd as helicopters, jets and historic Royal Air Force aircraft flew in formation overhead. It looked like a stripped down group portrait, intentional and not.
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