King Charles III will travel in a carriage with Queen Camilla for Trooping the Color on June 15 and will not be on horseback, Buckingham Palace announced today.
Royal officials also confirmed that the Princess of Wales will not deliver the salute at the Colonel’s Review, the traditional rehearsal for Trooping the Colour, on June 8.
Charles, 75, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, will join Camilla in assessing soldiers at Trooping the Color from an Ascot Landau carriage.
For the Colonel’s Review, Lieutenant General James Bucknall, the former commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, will be the inspecting officer on behalf of Kate.
The princess, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, would under normal circumstances have given the salute in her role as colonel of the Irish Guards.
But Kate is staying away from public royal duties during her chemotherapy as she rests at home, and won’t return until doctors give her the go-ahead.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla, pictured in a carriage at Royal Ascot on June 24, 2023
MailOnline understands that the attendance of other members of the Royal Family will be confirmed closer to the time of each event.
It comes after the military confirmed on Tuesday that Trooping the Color will go ahead despite the upcoming general election.
The celebration traditionally includes the gathering of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after a display of pomp and pageantry.
The royal family has postponed appointments “which could distract or distract from the election campaign” after Rishi Sunak last week called a surprise summer general election for July 4.
But they have continued with garden parties at Buckingham Palace and the king and queen’s 80th anniversary appearances on D-Day in Portsmouth and Normandy in June are expected to go ahead as planned.
Yesterday, Charles and Camilla toured the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in London, where they met former students including David Harewood, Cynthia Erivo and Daniel Mays.
On Tuesday, the British Army announced that almost 1,000 soldiers and around 240 horses from the Household Division will perform a ‘khaki rehearsal’ of the parade in London today.
The rehearsal will take place on Horse Guards Parade in front of an audience of more than 1,000 people as a test for soldiers and horses who have yet to rehearse publicly.
Lieutenant Colonel James Shaw, Brigade Major of the Household Division, will confirm that troops are at the required standard before performing at The Major General’s Review on Saturday, The Colonel’s Review on June 8 and Trooping the Color on June 15.
The army said company number 9, Irish Guards, has been chosen to group their colour, meaning the regiment will march its ceremonial flag through the ranks during the King’s official birthday.
The Band of the Irish Guards with the Pipes and Drums will march the troops onto the parade ground, led by regimental mascot Turlough Mor, an Irish Wolfhound, also known as Seamus.
The music will have a ‘distinctly Irish theme’, including Celtic folk tunes and new music composed for the parade.
The annual Trooping the Color has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign for more than 260 years.
Charles marked his first Trooping as king last year, riding to Horse Guards in Whitehall as the country’s head of state six weeks after his coronation.
During the celebrations, Charles and Camilla waved from the balcony of Buckingham Palace as thousands of well-wishers on The Mall sang the national anthem and gave three cheers.
The King and Queen were surrounded by the family’s core group of working royal members in 2023, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children.
Also on the balcony were the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.