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Royal Family Shares Photo from King Charles’s First-Ever Trooping the Colour (When He Was Only 2 Years Old)

King Charles.
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press/Getty Images

Today was a big day for King Charles III, who celebrated his first-ever Trooping the Colour as British sovereign. And in honor of his special day, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Collection Trust shared a throwback that showed the first time the monarch ever attended the ceremony.

The caption read, “Today, The King will attend Trooping the Colour for the first time as Monarch. He is no stranger to the Sovereign’s Birthday Parade, though, having attended from an early age.”

The rest of the caption detailed the photo. It read, “In this 1951 photo, His Majesty - then a two-year-old Prince Charles – is seen with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and aunt, Princess Margaret, returning to Buckingham Palace following Trooping the Colour. His mother, then Princess Elizabeth, had taken the salute on behalf of King George VI who was unwell.”

In the following slide, we see the late Queen Elizabeth from 1956, giving a salute during the Horse Guards Parade (FYI: she had been named monarch four years prior).

King Charles in 1951.
Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

During King Charles's first appearance at Trooping the Colour, he also got to join the family on the Buckingham Palace balcony (as seen in the image above).

In recent years, the king has taken a central role in the ceremony, riding on horseback alongside his sister, Princess Anne, and his son, Prince William.

This year, King Charles took his salute while on horseback, becoming the first monarch to do so in 37 years. During his mother's reign, she did the same until 1986, when she began riding in a carriage instead after the horse she had been using for 18 years was retired from duty.

We love to see how far you've come, King Charles.

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See the Royal Family’s Balcony Photo at 2023 Trooping the Colour



calfee

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the former Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features Editor at ROCKET Magazine. When he's not dissecting the latest trends in entertainment (or guiding you on what to watch), he covers all the hottest red carpet looks and fashion movements. When he steps away from the keyboard, you can likely find him at an NYC concert, thrift store or LGBTQ+ bookstore happily perusing the shelves.