London: At the yearly Trooping the Colour, King Charles III will make history by becoming the first British monarch in more than 30 years to accept the salute from mounted soldiers.
The sovereign's official birthday is celebrated on Saturday by the meticulously choreographed military parade, which has been a tradition for more than 200 years.
At the event in 1986, Queen Elizabeth II, who was 60 at the time, was the final monarch to ride. After Burmese, the horse she had used for 18 years, was retired from service, she made the decision to ride in a carriage instead.
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Charles, 74, will be given a royal salute at the conclusion of the parade, which begins at Buckingham Palace in the heart of London and proceeds down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade.
Before returning with other royal family members to view a ceremonial fly-past of aircraft from the palace balcony, he will first inspect soldiers on parade.
At the Trooping the Colour last year, Charles, his lone sister Princess Anne, and the heir Prince William all rode. It was one of the late queen's final public appearances before her passing in September at the age of 96. It was a part of the four days of festivities for the late queen's Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th year on the throne.
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Prince Harry, the younger son of Charles, and his American spouse Meghan kept a low profile at the affair but, according to rumours, were not invited this year.
The couple relocated to the US in 2020, and since then they have frequently criticised royal life.
William conducted another military ceremony on horseback on Saturday. Several soldiers passed out in temperatures of up to 28 Celsius (82 Fahrenheit).
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The actual birthday of Charles is November 14. King George II of Germany established the double birthday custom in 1748 because he wanted to celebrate in the summer since his actual birthday fell on October 30.