Fresh from their showstopping wedding three weeks ago, Meghan and Prince Harry will today pay tribute to the Queen at the spectacular Trooping The Colour ceremony, in celebration of her official 92nd birthday.
Royal fans will be eager to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – who have just returned from their honeymoon – joining other members of the royal family at the traditional summer spectacle.
Harry and Meghan are expected to ride in a carriage to the event, staged on Whitehall’s Horse Guards Parade, and later join members of the monarchy on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to watch the RAF flypast and acknowledge the crowds.
Fresh from their showstopping wedding three weeks ago, Meghan and Prince Harry will today pay tribute to the Queen at the spectacular Trooping The Colour ceremony at Whitehall, in celebration of her official 92nd birthday (pictured: security officers perform final safety checks along the parade)
Royal fans will be eager to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – who have just returned from their honeymoon – joining other members of the royal family at the traditional summer spectacle
The annual event will see more than 1,000 soldiers taking part in the traditional display of pomp and pageantry. The colour being paraded this year is the flag of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
The Queen, who recently had a successful eye operation to remove a cataract, will watch the Trooping ceremony from a dais in Horse Guards and later inspect the lines of guardsmen in their scarlet tunics and bearskins.
The annual event will see more than 1,000 soldiers taking part in the traditional display of pomp and pageantry. The colour being paraded this year is the flag of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who celebrates his 97th birthday on Sunday, has retired from official public duties and is not expected to attend.
The royal colonels, all on horseback, will accompany the Queen: Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards.
Riding in the ceremony for the first time will be the Duke of York in his new role as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
As with previous years, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall are expected to take part in the Queen’s carriage procession.
The procession will be accompanied by a Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, made up of Life Guards and Blues and Royals, in their silver and gold breastplates and plumed helmets.
The massed bands of the Household Division will provide musical backing during the day and also taking part is the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery who, following the parade, will fire a 41-gun salute in Green Park to mark the Queen’s official birthday.
After the ceremony the royal family will head back to Buckingham Palace and gather on the balcony to watch the RAF flypast.
Among the 23 aircraft taking part are modern jets and historic aircraft, while the Red Arrows will be the finale.
Trooping the Colour originated from traditional preparations for battle. Colours, or flags, were carried, or ‘trooped’, down the rank so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.
In the 18th century, guards from the royal palaces assembled daily on Horse Guards to ‘troop the colours’ and in 1748 it was announced that the parade would also mark the Sovereign’s official birthday.
The Queen’s actual birthday was on April 21 when she turned 92.
In honour of Her Majesty’s birthday, members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) performed a 21 gun salute to celebrate Queen’s Elizabeth II’s Birthday holiday weekend at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Riding in the ceremony for the first time will be the Duke of York in his new role as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards (middle)
In honour of Her Majesty’s birthday, members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) performed a 21 gun salute to celebrate Queen’s Elizabeth II’s Birthday holiday weekend at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Australian Defence Force troops march together for the 21 gun salute to mark the Queen’s birthday weekend
Turban-wearing Coldstream Guards soldier will make history at Trooping the Colour as the first soldier to parade in Sikh headdress
A Coldstream Guards soldier who will wear a turban as he parades during Trooping the Colour has said he hopes it is looked upon as a ‘new change in history’.
More than 1,000 soldiers will take part in the ceremony which marks the Queen’s official birthday on Saturday as the nation honours the monarch.
For Guardsman Charanpreet Singh Lall the event is not only his first Trooping the Colour, but also marks the first time a member of the Coldstream Guards has taken part wearing a turban.
The 22-year-old from Leicester told the said: ‘I hope that people watching, that they will just acknowledge it and that they will look at it as a new change in history.
‘I hope that more people like me, not just Sikhs but from other religions and different backgrounds, that they will be encouraged to join the Army.’
A member of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, the turban he will be wearing during Trooping the Colour will be black, featuring the ceremonial cap star to match the bearskin hats.
Gdsm Lall who joined the British Army in January 2016, was born in Punjab, India, and moved to the UK as a baby, said he is feeling ‘quite excited’ ahead of the event.
‘I’m quite proud and I know that a lot of other people are proud of me as well,’ he said.
‘It is a good feeling… there’s going to be a lot of eyes and I am going to have an influence on other people.’
Charanpreet Singh Lall said he hopes it is looked upon as a ‘new change in history’
This year the Sovereign’s official birthday will see the Colour of the 1st Battalion the Coldstream Guards being trooped
Trooping the Colour originated from traditional preparations for battle.
Colours, or flags, were carried, or ‘trooped’, down the ranks so they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.
In the 18th century, guards from the Royal palaces assembled daily on Horse Guards to ‘troop the colours’, and in 1748 it was announced the parade would also mark the Sovereign’s official birthday.
This year the ceremony, which is staged every June in London’s historic Horse Guards Parade, will see the Colour of the 1st Battalion the Coldstream Guards being trooped.
He revealed his mother, father and sister, who are ‘really, really proud’ of him, will be coming to watch him take part
More than 1,000 soldiers will take part in the ceremony which marks the Queen’s official birthday on Saturday
With weeks of rigorous training under his belt, on the day he and many other soldiers will wear immaculate uniforms and march with precision up the Mall and onto parade.
Gdsm Lall added: ‘For myself, being the first turban-wearing sikh to troop the colour and to be part of the escort it is a really high honour for myself, and hopefully for everyone else as well.’
He revealed his family including his mother, father and sister, who are ‘really, really proud’ of him, will be coming to watch him take part.
‘My mum was crying on the day I passed out so I wonder what is going to happen to her when she sees me in this,’ Gdsm Lall added.