Why Does King Charles Have 2 Birthdays? All About the Royal Tradition of Trooping the Colour

The reason for the public celebrations of King Charles’ birthday happening in June, rather than around his birth date in November, is actually quite practical

King Charles. PHOTO: DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES

Being the British monarch has its perks, including the fact that King Charles gets to celebrate his birthday twice a year.

In addition to his actual birth date of November 14, King Charles is fêted each year with public festivities of his birthday in June with a parade known as Trooping the Colour. In 2024, the second year of the King’s reign, the celebration in central London will be held on Saturday, June 15.

According to the Household Division, the tradition of the British monarch having both an actual birthday and an “official” birthday dates back to the reign of the current monarch’s namesake predecessor, King Charles II, who ruled from 1660 to 1685. In 1748, it was decided that this parade would be used to mark the official birthday of the monarch, and Trooping the Colour became an annual event during the reign of King George III.

The reason for the official festivities taking place in June is also quite practical, as the weather in the U.K. is better!

Queen Elizabeth’s actual birthday was April 21, but it was celebrated by the public each June. King Charles announced the summer date for his first Trooping the Colour in 2023, confirming that he’d keep the event around the same time as his mother.

Trooping the Colour.CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES

Trooping the Colour’s name comes from officers displaying their “colours,” the flags representing the different regiments in the British Army, according to the Household Division. The parade’s origins trace back to the battlefield, when a regiment’s colours signaled a rallying point for soldiers, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.

“In order to ensure that every soldier would be able to recognize their colours, the flag would be marched or ‘trooped’ regularly ’round the ranks,” they state. “A regiment’s colours came to have huge significance for serving soldiers, and the gain or loss of colours were seen as decisive moments in battle.”

More than 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians will create the stunning display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare to mark King Charles’ official birthday, according to Buckingham Palace.

Members of the royal family will gather for the special occasion, either participating in the parade on horseback or riding in horse-drawn carriages as crowds line The Mall in London from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guard’s Parade.

Trooping the Colour.JONATHAN BRADY – WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES

King Charles will take the salute before heading to Buckingham Palace, where royals will join him on the royal residence’s famous balcony to watch a flypast overhead performed by Royal Air Force jets and the Red Arrows display teams.

While King Charles, Prince William and Princess Anne will likely sport their military uniforms for the event, the royal women — such as Queen Camilla, Kate Middleton, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie — traditionally also put on a fashionable display in their most stylish hats for the daytime event.

The royal kids — especially the Prince and Princess of Wales’ three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — also make a splash at the event, from their adorable waves to their more unpredictable moments. In 2022, Prince Louis instantly went viral for covering his ears and shouting as the noisy planes passed overhead.

Camilla and Kate Middleton.NEIL MOCKFORD/GC IMAGES

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth’s final Trooping the Colour, which took place just months before her death in September, kicked off four days of events celebrating her 70th year on the throne, known as her Platinum Jubilee.

The monarch appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony using a cane, which she had been seen with regularly to help with her mobility issues. She made her final Buckingham Palace balcony appearance at the conclusion of the long weekend’s events following the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, greeting the public alongside her heirs — King Charles and Prince William — and their families.