King Charles will make his debut appearance at his first Trooping the Colour ceremony as the British Monarch this Saturday.
The annual parade, which falls in June each year, will see His Majesty take the salute as Colonel in Chief of the seven regiments of the Household Division.
This year it is the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards who will Troop their Colour for the Sovereign on June 17.
Here we take a closer look at when and where the King's birthday parade will take place, the historical significance of the event and where you can watch it.
When and where is it?
The ceremony will take place on the streets of London this Saturday, June 17 at 10am until 12:25pm.
The parade will move from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade with the royals being escorted in carriages and Prince William taking on the horseback role of Colonel of the Welsh Guards.
This year, the Sovereign's escort will be provided by The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals.
Charles will ride horseback, making it the first time in over 30 years that a monarch has ridden at the event with the last one being his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
What happens?
On the day, over 1400 soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses come together in a spectacular display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare to honour the Sovereign's birthday.
Once King Charles arrives at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall he will be greeted by a Royal salute and carry out an official inspection of the troops.
After the military bands have performed, the chosen Regimental Colour, or flag, is processed down the ranks of soldiers.
Regimental flags of the British Army, known as ‘Colours,’ were historically used on the battlefield to provide a rallying point and so that soldiers could recognise where their own unit was during conflict.
Only one colour can be trooped at a time and the five regiments of Foot Guards – Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards take turns to do so annually with this year being the 1st Battalion Welsh Foot Guards's turn.
Once they have marched past the King, the guards will ride back to Buckingham Palace before taking the salute again at the Palace from a platform.
The monarch and the senior members of the Royal Family will then retreat to Buckingham Palace to watch the RAF fly-past from the balcony which will conclude the day's celebrations.
Historical significance
The historical event, which dates back to sometime between 1660-1685 during King Charles II's reign, has traditionally fallen on the Sovereign's birthday for over 260 years.
This rule first came into play in 1748 and became an annual event once King George III became the monarch in 1760.
King George III, who was actually born in November, decided that he would like to celebrate his birthday in the summer time with an extravagant outdoor celebration instead of in the winter months.
The Sovereign came to the decision to instead mark his birthday twice a year - once publicly in the month of June and then privately on the real date in November too.
Trooping the Colour has been held on a Saturday in June each year since regardless of the monarch's real birth date with Queen Elizabeth being born on April 21 and King Charles' real birthday falling on November 14.
Where can I watch it?
Trooping the Colour will be broadcasted live on the BBC on Saturday from 10:30pm and will also be available to catch up with on BBC iPlayer.
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