This year’s Trooping the Colour has become the biggest non-story. It’s remarkable, really. Trooping is the annual “birthday parade” for the British monarch. In QEII’s day, she loved to have her entire extended family on the balcony, especially all of the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. It’s not the same during King Charles’s reign – even in QEII’s final years, they began gatekeeping the balcony so it would be all-white, and Charles wants William’s kids to be the only children on the balcony. Because of the lack of Trooping drama/gossip this year, I guess people needed a reminder that the most glamorous royals are not leaving their Montecito mansion to appear on the fakakta balcony. From NewsNation’s “King Charles, Prince William expected at Trooping the Colour; no Harry.”
One of the biggest events for the British royal family will be happening this weekend to mark the monarch’s birthday. But who will be in attendance this year? Trooping the Colour takes place on June 14 each year, with musicians, horses and parading soldiers taking part in the celebration. Royal family members will also sometimes join in on the fun, riding horseback and being in horse-drawn carriages.
After the parade, senior royals will gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the Red Arrows fly overhead. King Charles, Queen Camilla and his son, Prince William, should all be in attendance. However, with royals clashing and Prince Harry’s recent bid for security being denied, who can we expect to see at this year’s event?
There’s no doubt that King Charles, 76, and his wife, Queen Camilla, will be at the center of the balcony, waving to the crowd below. Express Newspapers reported that 42-year-old Prince William, along with Princess Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will also be on the balcony.
Charles’ brother, 61-year-old Prince Edward, should also be in attendance with his wife, Duchess Sophie. It is unclear if their children, Lady Louise and James, will be with them. Louise was with her parents in 2024, but James had skipped for his exams. Princess Anne is set to be on the balcony with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. Other senior royals who should be in attendance include: The Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard; The Duchess of Gloucester, Birgitte; The Duke of Kent, Prince Edward.
This is allegedly a smaller crowd than what Queen Elizabeth saw during her reign. When she had the throne, other royals who would be on the balcony included Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips. Queen Elizabeth would invite the entire royal family to join her for the event, but that changed in 2022, according to The Mirror. The late queen had decided to only invite working members to the balcony, which excluded Harry and his wife, as well as Prince Andrew. The only exception made was for Princess Anne’s husband, Sir Tim, her two youngest grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.
King Charles kept those same rules in 2023 and 2024 and will likely keep that same pace this year, since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, along with their children, are not expected to attend.
This reminds me of how often the Windsors and the Middletons use Harry and Meghan’s names to draw attention to their boring events and storylines. “Trooping is going ahead as planned” is an incredibly boring story. “This year’s Trooping will not include Harry or Meghan” is a sexy headline which will get wider play. Speaking of, the Daily Express ran a damn POLL asking “Should Prince Harry attend Trooping the Colour on Saturday?” These people are so bored with the left-behinds.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
