King Charles will break major Trooping the Colour tradition amid cancer treatment

King Charles is set to attend the Trooping of Colour ceremony next month, however, he won't be following a beloved royal tradition.

King Charles speaking

King Charles will not be riding on horseback this year (Image: Getty)

King Charles will take part in the Trooping the Colour ceremony next month but will inspect the soldiers from a carriage, it is understood.

Charles, who is currently undergoing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer, is expected to conduct the review of troops on June 15 from an Ascot Landau carriage with Queen Camilla by his side.

The monarch was given the all-clear to return to public duties in April after a short break, however, Buckingham Palace said that any future engagements involving the King "will be adapted where necessary" to accommodate his recovery.

It has also been reported that Charles may watch the military parade from a podium instead, having travelled there by carriage like his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Last year, Charles became the first monarch in more than 30 years to take part in Trooping the Colour on horseback.

King Charles riding on horseback during Trooping the Colour 2023

King Charles riding on horseback during Trooping the Colour 2023 (Image: Getty)
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The late Queen last rode out for the parade in 1986.

Trooping the Colour is held every year as an official birthday event for the monarch, even though Charles's actual birthday is on November 14. It dates back centuries and became an annual event from 1760.

It is one of the biggest military ceremonies of the year, featuring around 1,600 parading soldiers, 400 musicians, and more than 200 horses, and is usually wrapped up with an RAF flypast over Buckingham Palace, watched by the Royal Family from the Palace balcony.

The year's event will be taking place next month amid the General Election campaign.

Kate smiling

It is unclear whether Princess Kate will attend this year's celebrations (Image: Getty)

It is unclear whether the Princess of Wales, who is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after a cancer diagnosis, will attend the birthday celebrations.

However, Buckingham Palace today announced that she will not be taking the royal salute at the Colonel’s Review, one of the traditional Trooping the Colour rehearsals, on June 8.

Many were hoping that Princess Kate, who has been absent from royal duties since December as she currently undergoes treatment for a type of cancer, would make a royal return for this year's birthday celebrations for King Charles, but after the latest update, such a prospect seems highly unlikely.

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