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King and Queen cheered by crowds at Trooping the Colour

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent
Reporting fromthe Mall
Doug Faulkner
BBC News
PA Media The Royal Family - including King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children - stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the RAF flypastPA Media
Reuters The Red Arrows fly over Buckingham Palace where a Royal flag fliesReuters
The Royals watched the RAF flypast from the famous Buckingham Palace balcony
The Red Arrows led the flypast, trailing red, white and blue smoke

Crowds cheered as King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the Trooping the Colour parade to mark the monarch's official birthday.

The royal couple rode in a carriage in the military procession along the Mall and into Horse Guards Parade where the King reviewed guardsmen on parade.

They were ed by of the Royal Family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children.

The occasion was full of the traditional pageantry but, at the King's request, there were marks of respect to the victims of the Air India crash, with the Royal Family in the parade wearing black armbands.

The disaster killed 241 engers and crew, including more than 50 Britons, as well as at least eight people who were on the ground when the aircraft came down.

Watch: Highlights from Trooping the Colour on monarch's official birthday

This year's relaxed ceremony had a very different feel compared to last year - and not just because it was sunshine rather than lashing rain.

At Trooping the Colour in 2024 there had been feverish interest in Catherine's return to public life, in what was her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis.

This year she could be seen smiling alongside her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and seven-year-old Prince Louis - who gave a gap-toothed grin in a carriage alongside his brother.

The King, who is still undergoing his own treatment for cancer, rode in the carriage for the second year running rather than riding on horseback.

This was a ceremony celebrating the King's birthday. Although King Charles's actual birthday is 14 November, monarchs historically have had an "official" birthday for public events such as this, held in the summer in the hope of better weather.

PA Media People watch on from the parade ground as the Red Arrows streak past overhead trailing red, white and blue smokePA Media
The Red Arrows led the RAF flypast over central London
Reuters The King can be seen in his uniform at Trooping of the Colour Reuters
of the Royal Family, including the King, were wearing black armbands in honour of the Air India crash victims
PA Media Scots Guards line up in uniform holding rifles in one hand, resting on their shoulderPA Media
The Scots Guards took part in this year's Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade
PA Media of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment on the Mall after Trooping the ColourPA Media
of the Household Cavalry ride on the Mall after Trooping the Colour
PA Media Packed crowds on the Mall as of the public line up to watch flypast. The Mall is lined by UK flagsPA Media
Large crowds lined on the Mall to view the Red Arrows flypast

Along with the crowds of well-wishers and tourists, there was also a protest by anti-monarchists, who chanted and waved Not My King flags.

The event, which saw 1,350 troops taking part in the King's Birthday Parade, had its traditional finale with the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony watching a flypast.

This year the Red Arrows went green, as they used a more environmentally friendly blend of fuel, including sustainable aviation fuel and a biofuel for the trademark vapour trail.

That will have pleased the King, an environmental champion, who has been encouraging the use of sustainable aviation fuel where possible on royal flights and wants to promote its wider use.

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