King Charles has been joined by his wife Queen Camilla, son Prince William and daughter-in-law Princess Kate for his official birthday celebrations, Trooping the Colour 2023.
Royal fans may have spotted that two key people missing are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are thought to have remained in Montecito, California where they live with their two children Archie and Lilibet.
The event will likely bring back memories for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have attended the birthday parade on several occasions in the past for the late Queen Elizabeth II. However, not all of the memories will be fond ones, according to Harry, who revealed Meghan suffered an awkward encounter with Kate during her first Trooping appearance alongside the royal family back in 2018, days after they returned to the UK from their honeymoon.
It was one of his many confessions in his book Spare, which was released in January. He admitted Duchess Meghan tried to make a private joke with the Princess of Wales, but it was met with a “yawning silence.”
Discussing the incident, which marked one of Harry and Meghan’s first public appearances as newlyweds, he recalled: “Everyone present was in a good mood, upbeat. But then: Kate asked Meg what she thought of her first Trooping the Color. And Meg joked: Colorful. And a yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole.”
The following year also saw Meghan looking uncomfortable during a balcony appearance – see the clip below…
In 2022, the Duke and Duchess flew over to the UK for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s last Trooping the Colour, which coincided with Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The royals did not make an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the flypast, but the Duchess was spotted enjoying a sweet interaction with Peter Phillips’ daughters, Savannah and Isla, and Zara Tindall’s children, Mia and Lena at the windows.
Trooping the Colour falls on the third Saturday of June and marks the monarch’s official birthday – the King’s actual birthday on 14 November.
This year’s event was a milestone moment for Harry’s father, as it was his first Trooping event as reigning monarch. After deputising for Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Parade last year, he rode onto Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall as the nation’s head of state.
He was joined on horseback by the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Gold Stick in Waiting and Colonel of The Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel of the 1st Battalion London Guards.
They travelled from Buckingham Palace, down The Mall to Horse Guard’s Parade. Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family viewed the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards Troop their Colour. Following the parade, the royals will return to Buckingham Palace for the March Past and the fly-past.
WATCH: Prince George and Princess Charlotte bow during King Charles’ birthday parade