Trooping flashback!
Prince William rode in the carriage during the Trooping the Colour parade for the first time in 1987 when he was just 4 years old.
During his first go-around, William sat across from his mom, Princess Diana, as well as the Queen Mother. Now Prince William, 35, no longer sits in the horse-drawn carriage, as he rides on horseback like his dad Prince Charles. More than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians also participate in the parade, meant to demonstrate military precision.
Although Prince George is about the same age as his father was when he made his first ride, the 4-year-old royal has yet to make his Trooping debut in the parade itself.
Princess Charlotte, 3, is also still too young to come along in the carriage, but they both will join the entire royal family when they appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a fly-past by the Royal Air Force. A 41-gun salute is also fired in Green Park as part of the festivities, which celebrates Queen Elizabeth‘s birthday. (She turned 92 in April, but Trooping the Colour has operated as the official birthday of the British Sovereign for more than 260 years.)
Saturday’s Trooping marks a first for another royal, the newly minted Duchess of Sussex. Meghan will make her balcony debut during her inaugural Trooping the Colour.
