Trooping the Colour 2024: Live Updates as Kate Middleton Arrives at King’s Birthday Parade

Follow along as the royal family gathers in London for King Charles’ public birthday celebration

Kate Middleton and Prince Louis at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024. PHOTO: YUI MOK/PA IMAGES VIA GETTY

Trooping the Colour is here!

On June 15, the royal family will gather in London to mark King Charles’ official birthday celebration with an epic procession through London. Hundreds of soldiers, horses and musicians will perform a patriotic display of military precision in the King’s honor, continuing a tradition linked to the monarch’s official birthday since 1748.

The event also marks Kate Middleton’s first public appearance in six months since announcing her cancer diagnosis in March.

The pageantry is highlighted by a parade from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horse Guards’ Parade, where the Irish Guards will “troop their colour,” or present their flag. The parade will then head back to Buckingham Palace, where members of the royal family gather on the royal residence’s famous balcony to catch the ceremonial flypast by the Royal Air Force.

Read on for the latest news from Trooping the Colour 2024.

The Trooping the Colour Procession Forges Forward
10 minutes ago

Calvary on The Mall in london during Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

Despite the drizzle, the parade continued in the rain as the troops and royal carriages traveled back to Buckingham Palace.

The British Army said that over a thousand soldiers and 242 horses, 250 military musicians and 40 pipes and drummers came together for Trooping the Colour today.

Wet Weather Threatens the Flypast
36 minutes ago

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh and Lady Louise Windsor duck for cover in the rain at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

Heavy rain began to pour around 12 p.m. local time, though the festivities continued. Earlier in the day on June 15, the Royal Air Force said that its traditional flypast at the King’s birthday parade was subject to the weather.

“Today at 1pm, subject to weather, serviceability, & operational requirements, over 30 aircraft will take to the skies above London and over Buckingham Palace to celebrate His Majesty The King’s Official Birthday following the King’s Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour),” the branch wrote on X.

Amid the conditions, Princess Kate and her kids were spotted wiping the condensation away from their carriage window. Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and her daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, huddled for cover in the open No.1 Barouche.

In May 2023, it similarly drizzled on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation day, and the flypast was slightly modified due to the wet weather.

Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis Watch from the Window
50 minutes ago

Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Kate Middleton and Prince George at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.ALAMY

Princess Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis caught the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade from a prime spot inside the Major General’s Office. As seen in video shared to social media, Prince Louis danced and grooved to the tune of the music!

Prince William and Princess Kate’s youngest son is known for his playful personality and has charmed the crowds with his reactions at official events from Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee to King Charles’ historic coronation and more.

Prince William Saddles Up on Horseback at Trooping the Colour
1 hr 28 min ago

Prince William, Prince Edward and Princess Anne ride on horseback in Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

Prince William continued tradition and trotted into the spotlight at Trooping the Colour. He rode a horse named Darby, and saddled up alongside Prince Edward and Princess Anne. Prince William is the honorary Colonel of the Welsh Guards, and wore the regiment’s red uniform with a leek symbol on neckline and a traditional bearskin cap with white and green plume.

Polo player William is known to ride in the parades at Trooping the Colour, and did the same last year.

Kate Middleton Rides with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in the Glass State Coach
1 hr 36 min ago

Kate Middleton, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE

There they go! Kate Middleton traveled with her three kids, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, in the Glass State Coach as they made their way to Horse Guards Parade. Meanwhile, Prince William saddled up on horseback and rode in the parade through London.

The Princess of Wales revealed her plans to attend Trooping the day prior. “I’m looking forward to attending the King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” she said in a personal message, referring to her cancer treatment.

King Charles and Queen Camilla Travel by Carriage amid His Cancer Treatment
1 hr 45 min ago

King Charles and Queen Camilla at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.JAMES VEYSEY/SHUTTERSTOCK

King Charles and Queen Camilla rode in the Scottish State Coach as they moved along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade. It was previously confirmed that the King would travel this way at Trooping amid his cancer treatment. Instead of riding on horseback as he has in years past, including the first parade of his reign in June 2023, it was announced he would take a carriage with his wife and conduct the review from there.

The King resumed public-facing duties in late April after the palace announced that he was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment on Feb. 5. He has since quipped that he is glad to be “out of my cage,” after Queen Camilla, 76, said that her husband was “thrilled” to be out and about again.

Kate Middleton Arrives at Trooping the Colour with Family

Kate Middleton arrives at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP VIA GETTY

The Princess of Wales was first spotted on the morning of Trooping the Colour arriving in a car with her husband, Prince William, and their three children. The snap showed a hint of her outfit choice for King Charles’ birthday parade and her first public appearance since Christmas: a white Jenny Packham dress with a black bow detail around the neckline with a matching Philip Treacy hat over an updo.

Kate is expected to ride in the Glass State Coach with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in the procession through the streets of London before joining the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony later in the event.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Don’t Attend Trooping the Colour
5 hr 8 min ago

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at at the Ikoyi Polo Club in Lagos, Nigeria on May 12, 2024.KOLA SULAIMON/AFP VIA GETTY

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will not join members of the royal family at Trooping the Colour. PEOPLE previously confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not invited to the British military’s festivities for King Charles’ birthday on June 15 for the second year in a row.

Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, relocated to the U.S. after stepping back as working members of the royal family in 2020. They settled in her home state of California with their son, Prince Archie, 5, and their daughter Princess Lilibet, 3, was born stateside in 2021.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their first and only trip to the U.K. as a family of four in June 2022 to attend Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. They attended a special Trooping the Colour coinciding with the celebrations commemorating the Queen’s record 70-year reign but did not step out on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the royal family. Queen Elizabeth decreed that only working members of the royal family would be included in the balcony appearance, so Harry and Meghan watched the procession from the Major General’s Office overlooking Horse Guards Parade.

The couple had previously attended Trooping the Colour together in 2018 (one month after their royal wedding at Windsor Castle) and in 2019 (only weeks after welcoming their first child, son Prince Archie).

King Charles Is “Delighted” That Kate Middleton Will Attend Trooping the Colour

King Charles in November 2023; Kate Middleton in October 2023.SAMIR HUSSEIN/WIREIMAGE; MAX MUMBY/INDIGO/GETTY

The King was “delighted” that his daughter-in-law Princess Kate planned to step out at Trooping the Colour as she continues to receive cancer treatment.

“His Majesty is delighted that the princess is able to attend tomorrow’s events and is much looking forward to all elements of the day,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on June 14. The Princess of Wales spoke to her father-in-law about her attendance at the royal event celebrating his official birthday.

Princess Kate announced her plans to appear at the sovereign’s birthday parade in a personal letter on June 14. Earlier in the week, King Charles presented the Irish Guards with their new flag (known as “colours”) before the regiment stepped into the spotlight at Trooping the Colour. The five regiments of the Foot Guards rotate the presentation of flags at the event each year, and it is the Irish Guards’ turn to lead the charge through the streets of London.

Princess Kate is the honorary Colonel of the Irish Guard but didn’t attend the Colonel’s Review rehearsal on June 8 amid her cancer treatment. However, “Colonel Catherine” sent a letter expressing her “apologies” and sent the unit her best wishes.

Kate Middleton Will Attend Trooping the Colour amid Cancer Treatmen

Kate Middleton in Windsor in a photo released on June 14, 2024 amid her cancer treatment.MATT PORTEOUS

On June 14, it was announced that Kate Middleton would attend Trooping the Colour the following day amid her cancer treatment.

The Princess of Wales, 42, confirmed her attendance in a personal message about her health. Princess Kate, who announced in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy, was last seen on a royal outing on Christmas Day.

“I am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days. On those bad days, you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well,” she said in the message.

“My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months. On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home,” the royal continued.

“I’m looking forward to attending the King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” Kate added.

The update came with a new portrait of the royal by Matt Porteous, who Princess Kate and Prince William have previously tapped for family photos over the years. The snap, which provided the public’s first glimpse of the princess since she announced her cancer diagnosis, showed the Princess of Wales in Windsor, standing below a tree with her arms folded and legs crossed as she gazed up.