Why this year's Trooping the Colour is a defining moment for King Charles and the royals
LONDON — A new royal dawn is upon us.
This year's Trooping the Colour comes at a moment when the British monarchy is in desperate need of a show of strength — and King Charles III is determined to prove he's robust, stoic and unshaken despite his ongoing health battles.
Saturday's event may be steeped in pomp and pageantry, but it carries deeper meaning — symbolizing resilience and stability, and sending a clear message that the 76-year-old monarch is intent on projecting endurance, family unity, and unwavering duty to the British public.
Trooping the Colour is a batch of ceremonial events that mark and celebrate the birthday of King Charles III — though the monarch's actual birthday is in November.
While His Majesty continues his cancer treatment, palace aides were nonetheless directed to ensure this year's ceremony matched the grandeur, spectacle and tradition of previous years, The Post hears.
So, what makes this year's event more special than ever for the King?
With fewer working royals in the picture, not to mention the continued scrutiny of the monarchy's role in modern Britain, this year's ceremony carries extra weight.
'It's a show of strength,' a palace source tells The Post. 'The King is serving his country, and he's not going to let a diagnosis get in the way of that.'
Insiders tell the Post that Charles insisted on a hands-on approach in planning this year's event, with some help from the future King, Prince William — underscoring the pressures of succession and maintaining public confidence in the monarchy.
'For the King, Trooping has always been important,' the King's former personal butler, Grant Harrold, exclusively told The Post. 'It's when all the royal family get together to show a united front.'
This year's ceremony will also see Charles forfeit riding horseback — something he did for the first time last year.
Typically, Charles would ride on horseback from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade.
In 2023, the King rode Noble — a black mare horse presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police — during the ceremony. The move marked the first time a monarch had ridden in the parade since Queen Elizabeth II in 1986.
However, given his ailing health, the monarch will be driven to the parade in a carriage so that he can watch the ceremony from a podium.
Since announcing his cancer diagnosis to the world in February 2024, the King has been receiving weekly outpatient treatment at the London Clinic.
The Post is told that Charles is not looking to ride horseback at an official engagement ever again.
'Charles won't be on horseback but in a carriage for the second time this year,' Harrold said. 'It's important to note that Queen Elizabeth transitioned to carriages even earlier than Charles.'
'I think Charles would like to be on horseback,' Harrold said. 'But they've decided it is better for him to be in the carriage. It will likely become more of a tradition moving forward.'
While the same level of splendor as previous years is sure to take place, the Buckingham Palace balcony lineup looks a little different these days.
Charles, and his wife, Queen Camilla, 77, will stand in the middle of the balcony, and the couple will be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.
'Last year, it was the Edinburghs, Princess Anne, the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their family,' Harrold notes of 2024's Trooping the Colour ceremony. 'It's certainly been scaled back in recent years, which aligns with the King's wish to have a more streamlined royal family.'
Notably missing are Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, and their two children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.
With tensions between the Windsor and Sussex families deeper than ever, the public glimpse of the monarchy under William's future reign may already be unfolding.
'Harry has very much distanced himself from the family, and there's some tension, so there's no sign of him coming back at the moment.'
'Nevertheless, we'll see all the senior royals on the balcony, which is a much smaller family than we've had in the past,' added Harrold, who worked for Charles for seven years when he was the Prince of Wales.
As his family's united front and show of solidarity takes center stage Saturday, The Post is told that the Duke of Sussex will not be reaching out with congratulatory messages to his estranged father.
'I don't think Harry will be in touch, even though it's the King's official birthday,' Harrold said on behalf of Fruity King, 'his actual birthday is at the end of the year.'
With the continued absence of the Invictus Games founder and the 'Suits' alum, one senior member of the royal family is guaranteed to be stepping up to the plate: Princess Anne.
The Princess Royal, 74, who is widely regarded as one of the hardest-working royals within the Firm, is expected to ride horseback at ceremony alongside William and Prince Edward.
Anne, who turns 75 in August, is not letting the injury she sustained last year get in the way of her showing support for her brother.
The beloved royal spent a total of five days in the hospital with head injuries following a horse-related incident last June.
The ordeal had left her concussed, prompting her to experience subsequent memory loss after she was struck by a horse on the grounds of her Gatcombe Park estate.
Speaking about the ordeal last July, Charles' only sister said the experience taught her that 'every day is a bonus.'
'You're jolly lucky…if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis, and last summer I was very close to not being. Take each day as it comes, they say.'
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