King’s Birthday: How To Watch The Trooping Of The Colour 2025
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1 day ago
It's the British monarch's official birthday this weekend
Music, military precision and his majesty the King: all will take to Horse Guards Parade this weekend in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday. This includes the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony near Buckingham Palace. Here’s what it all means, plus how to see it.
King Charles III’s Official Birthday: 14 June 2025
Charles III was born in November, so why are we celebrating him now? The second Saturday in June is the British monarch’s ‘official birthday’, following in the footsteps of his late mother Elizabeth II, who was born in April but celebrated her ‘official birthday’ on the second Saturday of June.
It’s a tradition that stretches back several centuries in the British monarchy, and the monarch celebrates the day as well as their real birthday (14 November for Charles)
Trooping The Colour
A Trooping the Colour ceremony takes place in celebration of the monarch’s official birthday every year. A military event, it takes place on Horse Guards Parade on the opposite side of St James’s Park from Buckingham Palace.
This year, it will kick off at 10am, with an impressive display of pageantry involving over 1,400 officers and soldiers, 200 horses, 400 musicians, 10 bands and the King himself. The impressive spectacle culminates with the annual RAF flypast and an appearance from the royal family on the iconic Buckingham Palace balcony.
The Flypast
You know an occasion is very special when the RAF co-ordinates a flypast – and this is an annual feature of the British monarch’s birthday. Also known as the ‘red arrows’, a type of military aircraft that frequently features, make sure you look into the skies this Saturday to catch a glimpse of these impressive jets, leaving a trail of red, white and blue in the sky.
Timings
This Saturday (14 June), the Red Arrows will take off from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire at around 12.30pm. They will then fly over East Anglia, Ipswich, Colchester and Essex before making it to east London at around 1pm, and flying over Hackney, Shoreditch, the City and Westminster before finally passing over Buckingham Place at around 1.06pm.
The planes will then continue west, over Belgravia, Kensington, Hammersmith and Brentford, reaching Heathrow Airport by 1.09pm. By 1.10pm, the speedy jets will fly over Windsor Castle before heading back home to Lincolnshire.
How To Watch It
Members of the public are welcome to come and watch the King’s birthday celebrations, with standing areas on The Mall or on the edge of St James’s Park available. You don’t need a ticket, but expect lots of crowds.
If you’re not in London, the King’s Birthday Parade will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 10.30am on Saturday 14 June. Clare Balding will host the live coverage, with Radzi Chinyanganya on the ground chatting to the people involved.
Highlights from the day will be broadcast from 7pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
WATCH: bbc.co.uk
