King Charles Is Bringing Back This Royal Tradition After 37 Years

King Charles III, 74, has made some slight changes since he rose to the throne, from his social media presence to his collection of racehorses. Now, for his first Trooping the Colour ceremony as monarch, the king is bringing back a tradition from 37 years ago.

Although King Charles's birthday is actually in November, the Trooping of the Colour is an official ceremony that celebrates the birthday of the British Sovereign. For over 260 years, a parade of soldiers, musicians and more come together each June to mark the special occasion. But this year, the king is switching things up a bit by saluting while on horseback.

As noted by Buckingham Palace, the ceremony usually begins as follows: “Once the Sovereign has arrived at Horse Guard's Parade in Whitehall, they are greeted by a Royal salute and carry out an inspection of the troops, who are fully trained and operational soldiers wearing the ceremonial uniform of red tunics and bearskin hats.”

Initially, the late Queen Elizabeth II took the salute from the troops on horseback. However, in 1986, she began riding in a carriage instead after the horse she had been using for 18 years (Burmese) was retired from duty.

Now, it appears King Charles is getting back on the horse.

According to Yahoo! News (per Buckingham Palace), the king will be bringing back the tradition of saluting while on horseback—but it's not totally unusual given that the monarch rode a horse for the ceremony prior to becoming king.

At the 2022 Trooping the Colour, King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince William all rode on horses for the parade. We already know that the Prince of Wales will be doing so again this year, as he carried out “the Colonel’s Review’ at the Horse Guards Parade (AKA a dress rehearsal of the Trooping the Colour parade).

The 2023 Trooping the Colour will take place on Saturday, June 17. We're looking forward to this tradition coming back, Charles.

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