This year’s Trooping the Colour celebration marked King Charles’ public birthday for the first time ever since he became the head of the monarchy. This celebration is of great value to the British people because it represents a traditional event which has been celebrated for hundreds of years.
Trooping the Colour typically takes place every year on the second Saturday in June and has its origins on the battlefield.
“In order to ensure that every soldier would be able to recognise their colours, the flag would be marched or ‘trooped’ regularly round the ranks. A regiment’s colours came to have huge significance for serving soldiers, and the gain or loss of colours were seen as decisive moments in battle,” the Royal Museums Greenwich shares on its website.
“This military function gained royal significance during the reign of George II, the first monarch to tie his birthday celebrations into the summer ceremony – despite the fact that his actual birthday was in November.
“[King] Edward VII also had a November birthday, and it was during his reign that the summer ‘official’ birthday celebrations were standardized. It was also under [King] Edward VII that the inspection of the troops by the monarch became part of the celebration.”
The event included over 1,400 soldiers, 400 horses, and 400 musicians who gave King Charles a royal salute.
With his son, Prince William, and sister, Princess Anne, King Charles arrived at the Palace on horseback, where they conducted a formal review of the British military. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla and Princess Kate – together with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis – were taken to the ceremony in a carriage.
And pretty much as always, it was the youngest royal in attendance, Prince Louis, who stole the show. He was pictured either holding in a sneeze, trying not to openly laugh, or simply reacting to a bad smell.
This wasn’t the first time that Prince Louis ‘misbehaved,’ which is a normal thing to do considering his age. “When Prince Louis misbehaved at the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, for example, by sticking his tongue out at his mother, Kate’s reaction was praised by teams of expert commentators,” author Tom Quinn wrote in his book Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up In The Royal Family.
“She apparently used a secret code to calm the children, as she does on occasions — she simply says, ‘Let’s take a break’. But as a former staffer explained, the children know these few words carry far more weight than we might imagine.”
Louis’ siblings on the other hand were spotted chatting to one another and according to lip reader Jeremy Freeman Princess Charlotte told her mom, “Mom, George wiped it on his trousers.”
Although the three of them are still young to be able to understand the real meaning of being royals, at least Louis, they are still expected to follow royal rules and traditions.
During the Trooping the Colour carriage ride, Kate tried calming her children down by an eight-word order: “Do not look behind whilst on the coach.” As William was on horseback, it was Kate who had to govern the children solo.
“She beamed with pride when Louis started miming drumming along with the band in the carriage,” body language expert Judy James said. “Talking to her children, there were a couple of gestures of what looked like guidance about when to wave.
“There was also a spreading gesture of both hands that would normally mean quite a severe message of when to stop or what not to do, too,” the body language expert added.
“She also put her hands below public view in the carriage to mime that ‘stop’ or ‘end’ sign to them as though warning them where the boundaries were, and on the way back she was doing small reward nods and smiles for their good behaviour, to ensure they were enjoying the event too.”
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