Britain showcased a display of birthday pageantry on Saturday for King Charles III, with a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales’ first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
The annual event also highlighted the stability of the monarchy after months during which both the king and Kate, the wife of heir to the throne Prince William, had been sidelined due to cancer treatment.
Kate joined other members of the royal family on a Buckingham Palace balcony at the conclusion of the King’s Birthday Parade. The family and crowds outside the palace witnessed a flyby of military aircraft as part of the ceremonies celebrating the monarch’s official birthday.
Kate announced on Friday that she would attend the royal birthday celebrations after making progress in her treatment. She had revealed in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer. This public appearance was her first since December.
“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Kate stated, mentioning that she still has “a few more months” of treatment ahead.
The 42-year-old princess traveled in a horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace down the grand avenue known as the Mall with her children George (10), Charlotte (9), and Louis (6). Spectators cheered as they caught sight of Kate, adorned in a white dress by designer Jenny Packham and a wide-brimmed Philip Treacy hat.
She observed the ceremony with her children from the window of a building overlooking the Horse Guards Parade, a ceremonial parade ground in central London. Louis yawned widely at one instance during the proceedings but mostly watched attentively.
Kate clarified in her statement that she is “not out of the woods yet,” and officials emphasized that her engagement on Saturday does not signify a full return to public life.
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Huge crowds gather each June to witness the parade, also known as Trooping the Color, which starts with a procession involving horses, musicians, and hundreds of soldiers in ceremonial attire from Buckingham Palace.
Prince William, in military dress uniform, participated in the ceremony riding on horseback, where troops in ceremonial finery parade past the king with their regimental flag, or “color.” The display of precision marching and martial music stems from the days when a regiment’s flag was crucial in battle.
Charles, who is also undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, traveled in a carriage with Queen Camilla instead of on horseback as he did the previous year. The king inspected the troops from a dais on the parade ground, saluting as elite regiments of Foot Guards marched by.
Five regiments take turns to parade their colors, and this year it was the Irish Guards, of which Kate is the honorary colonel. The troops in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats were led onto the parade ground by their mascot, an Irish wolfhound named Seamus.
Charles, aged 75, disclosed his cancer diagnosis in February and has gradually resumed public duties. He attended commemorations last week for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on June 6, 1944.
In a British royal tradition quirk, Saturday is not the king’s actual birthday — that falls in November. As with his mother Queen Elizabeth II, Charles has an official birthday on the second Saturday in June, chosen for weather considerations. The day saw early sunshine give way to a blustery, rainy day in London.
The rain held off during most of the ceremony but started pouring as the massed troops escorted the royal carriages back to Buckingham Palace, greeted by cheers from soaked yet enthusiastic crowds.
Royal enthusiasts in raincoats and umbrellas had already gathered along the route hours before the start time, alongside a few anti-monarchist protesters chanting “Not my king.”
Spectators enjoyed a display of pomp and precision involving 1,400 soldiers, 250 military musicians, and over 200 horses. Among the equine participants were Trojan, Tennyson, and Vanquish, three of the five military horses that caused chaos in April when they bolted and ran free through central London.
The horses were engaged in routine exercises near Buckingham Palace on April 24 when they got startled by noise from a nearby construction site and galloped loose through the city streets, colliding with vehicles and causing havoc during the morning rush hour.
The army reports that the other two horses are recovering well and are expected to return to duty.
