King Charles to present New Colours ahead of most anticipated event

King Charles is set to present the New Colours today ahead of the monarch's upcoming birthday parade. 

The King, 75, will present the New Colours to No. 9 and No. 12 Company of the Irish Guards at Windsor Castle, acting as Colonel-in-Chief of The Household Division.

The new Colours will be featured in the Trooping the Colour parade this coming Saturday. The Presentation of New Colours Parade will begin with The Band of the Irish Guards, led by their Regimental Mascot, an Irish wolfhound named Turlough Mor, marching into Windsor Castle’s Quadrangle via the George IV Gate.

The Old Colours will be ceremoniously marched off, and the New Colours will be laid on a drum stack altar. 

Accompanied by the Irish Guards Regimental Lieutenant Colonel, Major General Sir Christopher Ghika, the King will arrive at the Quadrangle from the Sovereign’s Entrance and proceed to a dais facing the parade. To mark his arrival, there will be a Royal Salute and the National Anthem will be played.

His Majesty will then inspect the Guardsmen and Officers on parade before the Chaplain General blesses the Colours. The monarch will then present the Colours to two junior officers and move to the dais to address the parade.

This Saturday's Trooping the Colour ceremony will be attended by King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Princess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. It has not yet been confirmed whether Princess Kate, 42, will attend the ceremony. 

The Princess of Wales is currently battling cancer and began a course of preventative chemotherapy earlier this year. In 2023, Kate was joined by her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.