The year’s event will be taking place next month amid the General Election campaign and is set to see the monarch, who is currently undergoing treatment for a undisclosed form of cancer, break away from a beloved royal tradition.

Trooping the Colour is held every year as an official birthday event for the monarch, even though Charles’s actual birthday is on November 14. It dates back centuries and became an annual event from 1760.

It is one of the biggest military ceremonies of the year, featuring around 1,600 parading soldiers, 400 musicians and more than 200 horses and is usually wrapped up with a RAF flypast over Buckingham Palace, watched by the Royal Family from the Palace balcony.

Here, Express.co.uk takes a look at all the key details of this year’s Trooping the Colour, rehearsal times and official timing of the ceremony as well as which royals are set to attend this year.

Trooping the Colour is a major event in the royal calendar (Image: Getty)

When is Trooping the Colour?

Trooping the Colour has traditionally been held on a Saturday in June since 1959.

Even though the date is not fixed, from 1979 to 2017, as well as 2023, it was always held on a Saturday from June 11 to 17.

In 2018, it was held on June 9 and in 2019 on June 8, while during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the ceremonies were modified and scaled back, taking place at Windsor Castle instead.

In 2022, the Trooping the Colour ceremony was held on Thursday, June 2 as it coincided with the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Last year, Charles marked his first Trooping as King on Saturday, June 17, riding onto Horse Guards in Whitehall as the nation’s head of state six weeks after his coronation.

Rehearsals will start taking place soon in the lead up to the big ceremony (Image: Getty)

Will there be any rehearsals for Trooping this year?

On Tuesday, the British Army announced that almost 1,000 soldiers and around 240 horses from the Household Division will perform a “khaki rehearsal” of the Trooping parade in London this Thursday.

The rehearsal will take place on the Horse Guards Parade in front of an audience of more than 1,000 people as a test for soldiers and horses who have yet to rehearse publicly.

Lieutenant Colonel James Shaw, the Brigade Major of the Household Division, will confirm the troops are of the required standard before they perform at The Major General’s Review on Saturday, The Colonel’s Review on June 8 and Trooping the Colour on June 15.

The Army said the Number 9 Company, Irish Guards, has been chosen to troop their colour, which means the regiment will march its ceremonial flag through the ranks at the King’s official birthday event.

The Band of the Irish Guards with the Pipes and Drums will march the troops onto the parade ground, led by regimental mascot Turlough Mor, an Irish Wolfhound also known as Seamus.

The music is set to have a “distinctly Irish theme”, including Celtic folk tunes and new music composed for the parade.

Monarchs typically have two birthdays, with one marked by Trooping the Colour (Image: Getty)

Is Trooping the Colour King Charles’s actual birthday?

While Trooping the Colour marks the Sovereign’s official birthday, it is not the actual date they were born.

King Charles was born on November 14 1948 and not on June 15, when the celebrations will take place this year but like many monarchs before him, he celebrates two birthdays in a year.

However, while many would assume monarchs celebrate two birthdays due to royal tradition, the answer is much simpler – and it’s all down to the weather.

Summer in England, especially June, is the optimal time for a parade – rather than the more unpredictable weather in November.

It’s reported the two-birthday tradition was first performed during the reign of King Charles II.

The late Queen Elizabeth’s actual birthday was in April, but she also held Trooping the Colour in the summer as her official birthday parade.

Trooping the Colour route (Image: Express)

What happens at Trooping the Colour?

More than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians will come together to take part in a grand display of pomp and military pageantry on June 15.

Each year a different regimental colour (flag) is trooped and members of the five Foot Guards regiments take turns with it to lead the parade.

This year, the Irish Guards have been chosen to troop their colour, which means the regiment will march its ceremonial flag through the ranks at the King’s official birthday event.

At the start of the ceremony, Charles will be greeted by a royal salute on Horse Guards Parade and a 41-gun salute fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the Green Park.

His Majesty will then inspect his troops before the Massed Bands of the Foot Guards perform a musical “troop” and the trooped flag is carried through the ranks of the Foot Guards.

The regiment will then march past Charles before the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry ride past.

Charles will then head back to Buckingham Palace where he will join other members of the Royal Family on the balcony to watch a fly-past performed by the Royal Air Force.

Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a fly-past performed by the Royal Air Force.

Each year, the full parade is actually conducted three times on consecutive weekends.

This includes the Major General’s Review, which usually takes place two weeks before Trooping; the Colonel’s Review, which takes place a week before the King’s birthday parade and the official Trooping the Colour parade on June 15.

The glorious event typically lasts two hours with the RAF flypast signalling its end (Image: Express )

What are the timings of Trooping the Colour? How long does it last?

The glorious event typically lasts two hours with the parade usually starting at around 10.00 am and finishing by 12.25pm, when the royals head to the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

The RAF flypast is scheduled for approximately 1pm.

The Trooping the Colour parade route extends from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, and back again.

King Charles on horseback during Trooping the Colour 2023 (Image: Getty)

Will King Charles appear on horseback this year?

The King is set to attend this year’s celebrations on June 15, however, he will most likely break a beloved royal tradition.

Charles, who is currently undergoing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer, is expected to travel by carriage instead of riding on horseback.

Even though he was given the clear to return to public duties in April after a short break, the Palace said that any future engagements involving the King “will be adapted where necessary” to accommodate his recovery.

It has also been reported that Charles may watch the military parade from a podium instead, having travelled there by carriage like his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Last year, Charles became the first monarch in more than 30 years to take part in Trooping the Colour on horseback.

The late Queen last rode out for the parade in 1986.

Prince William’s birthday is on June 21 (Image: Getty)

Will Prince William have his own Trooping?

When Prince William is next on the throne, he might only get one celebration, unlike his predecessors.

William’s birthday is on June 21 – close to the “official” birthday celebration date – so he will decide himself whether he wants to continue the tradition or celebrate just one birthday.

The next in line to the throne, Prince George, was also born in the summer (July 22) so there is a chance after Charles the tradition will not be seen for many years.

The Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 2023 (Image: Getty)

Will Princess Kate attend Trooping the Colour?

No decision has yet been made on whether the Princess of Wales will attend Trooping the Colour this year.

The future Queen announced in March that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Kensington Palace have said she will only return to duties if her medics give her the go-ahead.

If Kate is unable to attend, her three children may also skip the staple royal event.

It is unclear whether Princess Kate will attend the year’s Trooping the Colour (Image: Getty)

Who will appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony?

The King will be joined by other working members of the Royal Family once the parade is over to spectate the RAF flypast.

Last year, Charles was joined by his wife, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

The Queen Royal was also in attendance joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

It is unclear whether Princess Kate, who is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, will attend.

Who was who during last year’s Trooping the Colour balcony moment (Image: Express)

When will the RAF flypast take place?

The RAF flypast will enter London at approximately 12.40pm on Saturday, June 15, before having previously flown over several counties around the UK.

At 11am, they will amass off the coast of Suffolk and will head onto land, where they will travel through Suffolk heading heading across Ipswich after 12:30pm and then entering Essex around 12.35pm.

The aircrafts will then pass over Colchester and Chelmsford at about 12:40pm before entering London from the North East, typically flying over the Hainault before making their way into the capital’s centre via Stratford.

This is expected at the earliest at 12.40pm with the flyover at Buckingham Palace scheduled for 1pm.

After travelling over the royal residence the planes will exit the city through the North West, heading towards the east of Oxford, before landing in Reading.

Where to watch Trooping the Colour

Members of the public without tickets are advised to stand on The Mall or on the edge of St James’s Park overlooking Horse Guards Parade from 9.00am.

The nearest tube and train stations are: Charing Cross – About 6 minutes walk. Bakerloo, & Northern line. Mainline train links. Embankment – 10 minutes walk Bakerloo, Northern, District & Circle line

Tickets for seating in the grandstand surrounding Horse Guards Parade for the King’s Birthday Parade are allocated by ballot.

Tickets for the Colonel’s Review and the Major General’s Review are on sale now and cost £30.00 for the King’s Birthday Parade, £15.00 for the Colonel’s Review and £10.00 for the Major General’s Review.

Anyone wishing to purchase tickets or enter the ballot can do so by visiting www.kbp.army.mod.uk.

For those wanting to stay at home and avoid the crowds, Trooping the Colour will be broadcast live on the BBC in the UK.