Trooping the Colour 2024: Will King Charles and Kate Middleton attend amid ongoing health issues?

King Charles could travel in a carriage as he attends this year's Trooping the Colour amid his ongoing cancer treatment. The 75-year-old monarch, who is battling 'an undisclosed form of cancer following treatment for an enlarged prostate, is reportedly determined to attend his annual birthday parade, which takes place on June 15.

The Daily Mail reported: "Aides are already exploring ways the King might be able to take part within the constraints of his ongoing cancer treatment. This could include watching the military spectacular from a podium instead of on horseback as usual, having been driven from Buckingham Palace in a carriage as his late mother used to.”

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth 11 attended the Chelsea Flower Show in a buggy and was joined in the six-seater vehicle by the president of the Royal Horticultural Society, Keith Weed, who gave her a running commentary. The late Queen was forced to use a buggy because she had been suffering from mobility issues. 

The King has been dealing with his red boxes of state papers behind the scenes, as well as conducting small audiences at Buckingham Palace, as he continues to receive treatment for his cancer.

It is not yet known whether the Princess of Wales, who is currently recovering from abdominal surgery, will be attending Trooping the Colour, like she does every year. Kate, who is not set to return to her official public duty until after Easter, however, was seen visiting the Windsor Farm Shop at the weekend with her husband, Prince William.

The mum-of-three has also been spotted at her children's sports matches over the weekend and has been seen on the school run at Lambrook, amid wild internet conspiracy theories surrounding her health and wellbeing.

What is Trooping the Colour

King Charles III's ancestor King Charles II may have been the first to celebrate the Trooping the Colour with 1748 marking the year the event became a tradition for the monarch's birthday, but it wasn't until the accession of King George III that the parade was celebrated annually.

Despite the birthday celebration, the ceremonial event we see today with the senior royal family members standing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace was not put in place until 1889 as before that the Firm were not always in attendance - for example, Queen Victoria only attended the Trooping the Colour once in her reign when it was held at Windsor Castle, while the 1892 procession was attended by Prince George alone as others mourned the death of Prince Albert Victor.

The Trooping the Colour evolved once more in 1938 when it was first broadcast on the BBC, making it available to millions. The sovereign's 'official birthday' tends to be held on a Saturday in June due to the finer British weather and often falls when the Birthday Honours List is revealed.

When is Trooping the Colour 2024

This year, Trooping the Colour will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2024.