The 2023 Trooping the Colour was held on Saturday 17 June 2023. Over 1,500 soldiers, 300 horses, and 400 musicians took part in the ceremony, the first to be held during King Charles III's reign, and for his first Official Birthday.
The parade
The parade began at 11 am British Summer Time (BST). It was the first time since 1986 that the monarch had ridden on horseback during the ceremony. The King was accompanied on horseback by William, Prince of Wales, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Anne, Princess Royal. Senior members of the royal family, including Queen Camilla, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, rode in carriages to the Horse Guards Parade.
All five regiments of the Foot Guards participated in the parade, alongside the two regiments of the Household Cavalry. The colour was trooped by the Welsh Guards. The parade was the first following a shift in honorary colonelcies in the Foot Guards in December 2022. Queen Camilla replaced Prince Andrew, Duke of York as colonel of the Grenadier Guards, while Prince William became colonel of the Welsh Guards. The Princess of Wales took her husband's former role as colonel of the Irish Guards The Duke of Edinburgh rode in his capacity as colonel of the London Guards, a reserve regiment formed in May 2022.
After the parade
Following the trooping at the Horse Guards Parade, the royal family partook in a procession that escorted them back to Buckingham Palace. Guns fired 41 shots from St James' Park at this time. Upon their return to the palace, the royal family made a balcony appearance and watched an aircraft flypast.
Balcony appearance
British royal family
The King and Queen
The Prince and Princess of Wales, the King's son and daughter-in-law
Prince George of Wales, the King's grandson
Princess Charlotte of Wales, the King's granddaughter
Prince Louis of Wales, the King's grandson
The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the King's sister and brother-in-law The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the King's brother and sister-in-law
Other descendants of the King's maternal great-grandfather King George V and their families: The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the King's maternal first cousin once removed and his wife The Duke of Kent, the King's maternal first cousin once removed