King Charles III will today present new colors to the Irish Guards, the regiment of which his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, became colonel last year.
The monarch will inspect the guards and officers parading at Windsor Castle before the Chaplain General consecrates the colors with a blessing.
The new colors will be those on display in Trooping the Color at the King’s official birthday parade at Horse Guards Parade in London this Saturday.
Charles, colonel-in-chief of the seven guards regiments of the household division, will inspect the soldiers on parade from a carriage and not on horseback.
The 75-year-old monarch has recently returned to public duties while still receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
MailOnline understands that Charles is not replacing Kate today, because he is Colonel-in-Chief of the seven Guards regiments, including the Irish Guards, and the presentation of new colors is done by convention by the Colonel-in-Chief.
Kate and Charles during a visit to a medical rehabilitation center in Loughborough in 2020
Charles greets Kate at a Commonwealth war graves cemetery in Ypres, Belgium, in July 2017.
In March 2023, Kate took over as Colonel of the Irish Guards from her husband, Prince William.
The Princess sent a letter to the regiment to apologize for not being able to perform the salute and to wish them luck for the Colonel’s Review – the final rehearsal of the King’s birthday parade – in London last Saturday, June 8.
Kate, who is undergoing chemotherapy following a cancer diagnosis, spoke of her pride in them, adding that being a colonel “is still an honour.”
The princess was represented at the Colonel’s Review by General James Bucknall, who acted as the chief inspecting officer for the day in the princess’s absence.
The colours, adorned with a regiment’s emblems and battle honours, were originally used as rallying points for troops on the battlefield.
Troops take part in the Colonel’s Review at the Horse Guards Parade in London on June 8.
Troops from the Home Division take part in the Brigade Major’s Review in London on May 30
They still accompany soldiers on operations and, more visibly, on ceremonial duties.
The presentation of the new colors for No. 9 and No. 12 Companies will begin with the Band of the Irish Guards carrying them to Windsor Castle.
They will be led by the mascot of the Irish Guards regiment: an Irish wolfhound called Turlough Mor but affectionately known as Seamus.
This Saturday, the King will be accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel of the Irish Guards Regiment, Major General Sir Christopher Ghika KCVO CBE.
There will be a royal greeting and the national anthem will be played.
During the Colonel’s Review last Saturday, Seamus was led across the square by a scarlet-clad drummer. The dog was presented to the regiment as the soldiers lined up.
2023 — (Left to right) Prince George, Kate, Prince Louis, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Color on June 17 last year
2022: William, Kate and their children attend Trooping the Color in London on June 2, 2022.
2019 — William and Kate at Trooping the Color with their children in London on June 8, 2019
The waiting brigade’s field officer, Lieutenant Colonel James Coleby, shouted orders to the regiment while riding a white horse named Onyx.
A model of the royal carriage, emulating the one that will transport the King in a week’s time, arrived at Horse Guards Parade in time to arrive at the salute base at exactly 11am
A royal salute was given and the national anthem was performed in its entirety. The Calvary of the House and the Mounted Band paraded through the square with the carriage.
The horses marched in pairs in front and behind the carriage, with two divisions in front and two behind before the group finally left the parade and toured the mall to prepare for the mock firing of a 41-gun salute, which will take place this Saturday. .
A total of 250 musicians, 20 pipers, 240 military workhorses and almost 1,000 dual-duty soldiers from the British Army’s Home Division took part in last Saturday’s event.