Trooping The Colour 2026 - date, time and important order of events
King Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton will all be attending the Trooping the Colour event in London this weekend to mark the King's official summer birthday. Here's all the times and details you need to know.
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Trooping the Colour takes place in June every year and is the official royal date in the diary where we celebrate the monarch's summer birthday.
To mark the special occasion in London, King Charles will be joined by key members of the royal family including son Prince William, daughter-in-law Kate Middleton and of course, his wife Queen Camilla.
The date, which takes places this weekend, features a royal parade, a Red Arrows flypast and the traditional gathering of the senior family members on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
So when is Trooping the Colour and what time does it start? Here's all the details including the order of events and locations.
When is Trooping the Colour 2026?
This year, the King's official summer birthday is taking place on Saturday 13th June.
Traditionally, the monarch will celebrate two birthdays, their real one, and this event. King Charles's actual birthday is on 14th November.
This royal tradition goes back years with monarchs always typically celebrating their summer birthday on the second Thursday in June. However, in 1958, under the ruling of Queen Elizabeth II, it was changed to the second Saturday of the month.
So why do kings and queen's celebrate Trooping the Colour? Because of the weather. Started when George II was in power, he found the British conditions were too bad to hold his birthday parade in November.
What time is Trooping the Colour and what is the order of events?
The celebrations will be starting early, beginning at 10am and is due to finish by 1pm. The order of events are as follows:
- 10am: Troops and bands gather at the Horse Guards parade.
- 10:45am: The Royal Procession, featuring King Charles and Prince William, leave Buckingham Palace to travel down to the Horse Guards Parade.
- 11am: The king takes the Royal Salute while the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fires a 41-gun salute in Green Park.
- 11:05am-12pm - Royal and army traditions are carried out including the Kings inspection, the Massed Bands Troop, the Trooping the Colour and the Foot Guards marching past the king.
- 12:20pm - The King and royal family take the procession back to Buckingham Palace.
- 12:55pm - The royal family gather on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
- 1pm - Flypast
In total, around 1,350 soldiers from the Household Division and the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery take part.
There are also around 300 musicians from Massed Band with an additional 250 people from service personnel.
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Where does Trooping the Colour take place?
Located in central London, the parade takes place from Buckingham Palace, all the way down The Mall where they stop at Whitehall's Horse Guard Parade.
You can also capture a sneak of the events at Green Park where the gun salute takes place.