King Charles III of the United Kingdom will ride in his annual birthday parade on horseback on Saturday, the first time the king has done so since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1986.
The annual Trooping the Color parade commemorates the official birthday of the British monarch.
The dazzling show of regimental discipline and grandeur is the first of Charles’s 74-year reign.
Charles’s actual birthday is November 14, but British monarchs celebrate twice – once privately and once publicly.
The June parade tradition began in 1748, when King George II wished to celebrate his birthday in warmer summer weather because his birthday was on October 30.
The march from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in central London kicks off the televised spectacle.
Juno, a 10-year-old shire mare, leads the parade of 1,400 troops, 400 musicians, and 200 horses, who are headed by three other Drum Horses – Perseus, Atlas, and Apollo.
Drum Horses are the army’s most senior animals, holding the rank of major. They are generally named after Greek mythological people.
The minutely choreographed ceremony evolved from the presentation of different regiments’ colors or flags to assist their soldiers to recognize them in battle.
This year, the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards will troop, or march, their colors up and down the lines.
Temperatures are expected to reach 25 degrees Celsius, but troops will likely feel hotter in their ceremonial black bearskin helmets and heavy crimson tunics.
On horseback, Charles will be accompanied by his eldest son and heir, Prince William, his brother Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and sister Anne, Princess Royal.
Last weekend, William reviewed troops from the Household Division group of senior regiments, and the excessive temperatures caused several soldiers to faint.
William is an honorary colonel of the Welsh Guards as Prince of Wales.
After inspecting the troops and taking a royal salute, Charles will lead soldiers back to the palace as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
After a 41-gun salute from adjacent Green Park, he will join other senior members of the royal family to watch a fly-past of approximately 70 military aircraft over the British capital.
A scheduled fly-past at Charles’ coronation on May 6 was cut short because to inclement weather.
In the mid-1980s, the late Queen Elizabeth rode her horse Burmese, a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in the parade.
She elected to utilize a carriage for Trooping the Color after her horse, which she had ridden for 18 years, was retired in 1986.
Last year’s march was the late queen’s final, and it was part of a four-day celebration of her record-breaking 70th year on the throne.
It was one of her final public appearances before her death in September at the age of 96.
