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Queen Elizabeth won’t take Trooping the Colour royal salute for the first time in 70 years
For the first time in her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth will not take the royal salute during the Trooping the Color parade.
The parade is held each year to officially mark the sovereign’s birthday. It’s part of the 96-year-old’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this year, which marks her seven decades on the throne. The festivities will take place on June 2.
Historically, the British monarch has taken the salute to her troops, known as the Household Division on Horse Guards Parade. This year her son Prince Charles, the heir to the British throneas well as her daughter Princess Anne and her grandson Prince William, will take the salute instead during the military display.
It is noted that the ceremony is being modified as the queen is experiencing “episodic mobility issues” and has had difficulties moving around in recent months.
Elizabeth has also been delegating tasks to senior members of the royal family. Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace shared that the queen’s attendance at events through the Platinum Jubilee weekend will likely only be confirmed on “the day itself.”
The queen is expected to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the Trooping the Color Parade and greet the public. She will be accompanied by three of her four children and their spouses: Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Anne and retired Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; and Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
William and his wife Kate Middleton will also be on the balcony with their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. William, 39, is second in line to the throne after his father Charles, 73.
The palace confirmed that only working senior members will appear on the balcony, which means Prince Andrew, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will not be present.
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The queen has been making surprise appearances during the Platinum Jubilee season. She recently made her first public appearance in weeks when she attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show, where she watched her beloved equines perform. She was also the guest of honor at an equestrian show near Windsor, where Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and Helen Mirren were guests.
Soon after, Elizabeth made an appearance at a train station in London to see a newly completed subway line named in her honor.
Buckingham Palace called the visit “a happy development,” noting that “the organizers were informed of the possibility she may attend.”
