Men who stole $6 million golden toilet from English mansion sentenced to prison terms
LONDON (AP) — Two burglars who plotted the heist of a $6.4 million golden toilet, a fully-functional 18-carat piece of contemporary art that was ripped from the plumbing of an English mansion, were sentenced Friday to more than two years in a British prison.
The satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled 'America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had only been on display for a couple days when five burglars swiped it from Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born — in September 2019. The purloined potty was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold.
'This bold and brazen heist took no more than 5 1/2 minutes to complete,' Judge Ian Pringle said in Oxford Crown Court. 'America has never been seen again.'
James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property, was sentenced to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months.
The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the bullion at the time was 2.8 million pounds ($3.5 million), but it was insured for 4.7 million pounds (more than $6 million).
The piece by Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York, poked fun at excessive wealth. It had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum in New York.
When U.S. President Donald Trump asked the museum to loan him a Van Gogh painting during his first term in office, the Guggenheim cheekily offered the toilet instead. The White House did not accept the offer.
The toilet had just gone on display when Jones visited the museum twice, booking a viewing the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience 'splendid' during his testimony.
The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore across well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before.
The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year.
Surveillance footage showed one of the men, whose face was hidden in a black mask, walking from the palace with a golden toilet seat in his hand. Two other men appeared to lift something golden into the trunk of a waiting car and the suspension sagged under the weight.
Sheen's DNA was found on a sledgehammer left behind at the scene of the crime indicating he was among the burglars. Investigators also found hundreds of gold fragments on a pair of sweatpants at his home, which had come from cutting up the spoils of the caper.
Sheen had sent a relative a photo of 520,000 pounds in cash, which a prosecutor said was for the sale of about a fifth of the gold.
None of the gold or money has ever been recovered and no one else was charged with the burglary.
Another convict, Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, who tried to help Sheen find a buyer for the gold was spared a jail term when Pringle sentenced him last month to a suspended sentence for conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Pringle said the thieves had taken advantage of him.
Both Sheen and Jones had lengthy criminal records, prosecutor Julian Christopher said.
At the time of the burglary, Sheen was on parole for a firearms conviction that involved a running gun battle with another car that injured passengers in a third vehicle. He was arrested for additional crimes while on release and has since been sentenced to serve more than 19 years in prison.
Jones had a record dating back to the age of 13 that included burglary, several car thefts and robbery.
Almost six years ago, on the eve of the heist, Jones did his reconnaissance work testing out the toilet. It was a Friday the 13th, a day many consider unlucky.
For several years it appeared the burglars appeared to have gotten away with their crime. They avoided charges for more than four years and several culprits were not caught. But Sheen and Jones ultimately paid a price for their roles — on Friday the 13th.
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A Border Patrol agent died in 2009. His widow is still fighting a backlogged US program for benefits
When her husband died after a grueling U.S. Border Patrol training program for new agents, Lisa Afolayan applied for the federal benefits promised to families of first responders whose lives are cut short in the line of duty. Sixteen years later, Afolayan and her two daughters haven't seen a penny, and program officials are defending their decisions to deny them compensation. She calls it a nightmare that too many grieving families experience. 'It just makes me so mad that we are having to fight this so hard,' said Afolayan, whose husband, Nate, had been hired to guard the U.S. border with Mexico in southern California. 'It takes a toll emotionally, and I don't think they care. To them, it's just a business. They're just pushing paper.' Afolayan's case is part of a backlog of claims plaguing the fast-growing Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. Hundreds of families of deceased and disabled officers are waiting years to learn whether they qualify for the life-changing payments, and more are ultimately being denied, an Associated Press analysis of program data found. The program is falling far short of its goal of deciding claims within one year. Nearly 900 have been pending for longer than that, triple the number from five years earlier, in a backlog that includes cases from nearly every state, according to AP's review, which was based on program data through late April. More than 120 of those claims have been in limbo for at least five years, and roughly a dozen have languished for a decade. 'That is just outrageous that the person has to wait that long,' said Charlie Lauer, the program's general counsel in the 1980s. 'Those poor families.' Justice Department officials, who oversee the program, acknowledge the backlog. They say they're managing a surge in claims — which have more than doubled in the last five years — while making complicated decisions about whether cases meet legal criteria. In a statement, they said 'claims involving complex medical and causation issues, voluminous evidence and conflicting medical opinions take longer to determine, as do claims in various stages of appeal.' It acknowledged a few cases "continue through the process over ten years.' Program officials wouldn't comment on Afolayan's case. Federal lawyers are asking an appeals court for a second time to uphold their denials, which blame Nate's heat- and exertion-related death on a genetic condition shared by millions of mostly Black U.S. citizens. Supporters say Lisa Afolayan's resilience in pursuing the claim has been remarkable, and grown in significance as training-related deaths like Nate's have risen. 'Your death must fit in their box, or your family's not going to be taken care of,' said Afolayan, of suburban Dallas. Their daughter, Natalee, was 3 when her father died. She recently completed her first year at the University of Texas, without the help of the higher education benefits the program provides. Congress created the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program in 1976, providing a one-time $50,000 payout as a guarantee for those whose loved ones die in the line of duty. The benefit was later set to adjust with inflation; today it pays $448,575. The program has awarded more than $2.4 billion. Early on, claims were often adjudicated within weeks. But the complexity increased in 1990, when Congress extended the program to some disabled officers. A 1998 law added educational benefits for spouses and children. Since 2020, Congress has passed three laws expanding eligibility — to officers who died after contracting COVID-19, first responders who died or were disabled in rescue and cleanup operations from the September 2001 attacks, and some who die by suicide. Today, the program sees 1,200 claims annually, up from 500 in 2019. The wait time for decisions and rate of denials have risen alongside the caseload. Roughly one of every three death and disability claims were rejected over the last year. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans recently introduced legislation to require the program to make determinations within 270 days, expressing outrage over the case of an officer disabled in a mass shooting who's waited years for a ruling. Similar legislation died last year. One group representing families, Concerns of Police Survivors, has expressed no such concerns about the program's management. The Missouri-based nonprofit recently received a $6 million grant to continue its longstanding partnership with the Justice Department to serve deceased officers' relatives — including providing counseling, hosting memorial events and assisting with claims. 'We are very appreciative of the PSOB and their work with survivor benefits,' spokesperson Sara Slone said. 'Not all line-of-duty deaths are the same and therefore processing times will differ.' Born in Nigeria, Nate Afolayan moved to California with relatives at age 11. He became a U.S. citizen and graduated from California State University a decade later. Lisa met Nate while they worked together at a juvenile probation office. They talked, went out for lunch and felt sparks. 'The next thing you know, we were married with two kids,' she said. He decided to pursue a career in law enforcement once their second daughter was born. Lisa supported him, though she understood the danger. He spent a year working out while applying for jobs and was thrilled when the Border Patrol declared him medically fit; sent him to Artesia, New Mexico, for training; and swore him in. Nate loved his 10 weeks at the academy, Lisa said, despite needing medical treatment several times — he was shot with pepper spray in the face and became dizzy during a water-based drill. His classmates found him to be a natural leader in elite shape and chose him to speak at graduation, they recalled in interviews with investigators. He prepared a speech with the line, 'We are all warriors that stand up and fight for what's right, just and lawful." But on April 30, 2009 — days before the ceremony — a Border Patrol official called Lisa. Nate, 29, had fainted after his final training run and was hospitalized. It was dusty and 88 degrees in the high desert that afternoon. Agents had to complete the 1.5-mile run in 13 minutes, at an altitude of 3,400 feet. Nate had warned classmates it was too hot to wear their black academy shirts, but they voted to do so anyway, records show. Nate, 29, finished in just over 11 minutes but then struggled to breathe and collapsed. Now Nate was being airlifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital for advanced treatment. Lisa booked a last-minute flight, arriving the next day. A doctor told her Nate's organs had shut down and they couldn't save his life. The hospital needed permission to end life-saving efforts. One nurse delivered chest compressions; another held Lisa tightly as she yelled: 'That's it! I can't take it anymore!' Lisa became a single mother. The girls were 3 and 1. Her only comfort, she said, was knowing Nate died living his dream — serving his adopted country. When she first applied for benefits, Lisa included the death certificate that listed heat illness as the cause of Nate's death. The aid could help her family. She'd been studying to become a nurse but had to abandon that plan. She relied on Social Security survivors' benefits and workers' compensation while working at gyms as a trainer or receptionist and dabbling in real estate. The program had paid benefits for a handful of similar training deaths, dating to a Massachusetts officer who suffered heat stroke and dehydration in 1988. But program staff wanted another opinion on Nate's death. They turned to outside forensic pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina. Cina concluded the autopsy overlooked the 'most significant factor': Nate carried sickle cell trait, a condition that's usually benign but has been linked to rare exertion-related deaths in military, sports and law enforcement training. Cina opined that exercising in a hot climate at high altitude triggered a crisis in which Nate's red blood cells became misshapen, depriving his body of oxygen. Cina, who stopped consulting for the benefits program in 2020 after hundreds of case reviews, declined to comment. Nate learned he had the condition, carried by up to 3 million U.S. Black citizens, after a blood test following his second daughter's birth. The former high school basketball player had never experienced any problems. A Border Patrol spokesperson declined to say whether academy leaders knew of the condition, which experts say can be managed with precautions such as staying hydrated, avoiding workouts in extreme temperatures and altitudes, and taking rest breaks. Under the benefit program's rules, Afolayan's death would need to be 'the direct and proximate result' of an injury he suffered on duty to qualify. It couldn't be the result of ordinary physical strain. The program in 2012 rejected the claim, saying the hot, dry, high climate was one factor, but not the most important. It had been more than two years since Lisa Afolayan applied and three since Nate's death. Most rejected applicants don't exercise their option to appeal to an independent hearing officer, saying they can't afford attorneys or want to get on with their lives. But Lisa Afolayan appealed with help from a border patrol union. A one-day hearing was held in late 2012. The hearing officer denied her claim more than a year later, saying the 'perfect storm' of factors causing the death didn't include a qualifying injury. Lisa and her daughters moved from California to Texas. They visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, where they saw Nate's name. Four years passed without an update on the claim. Lisa learned the union had failed to exercise its final appeal, to the program director, due to an oversight. The union didn't respond to AP emails seeking comment. Then she met Suzie Sawyer, founder and retired executive director of Concerns of Police Survivors. Sawyer had recently helped win a long battle to obtain benefits in the death of another federal agent who'd collapsed during training. 'I said, 'Lisa, this could be the fight of your life, and it could take forever,'" Sawyer recalled. "'Are you willing to do it?' She goes, 'hell yes.'' The two persuaded the program to hear the appeal even though the deadline had passed. They introduced a list of similar claims that had been granted and new evidence: A Tennessee medical examiner concluded the hot, dry environment and altitude were key factors causing Nate's organ-system failure. But the program was unmoved. The acting Bureau of Justice Assistance director upheld the denial in 2020. Such rulings usually aren't public, but Lisa fumed as she learned through contacts about some whose deaths qualified, including a trooper who had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, an intoxicated FBI agent who crashed his car, and another officer with sickle cell trait who died after a training run on a hot day. In 2022, Lisa thought she might have finally prevailed when a federal appeals court ordered the program to take another look at her application. A three-judge panel said the program erred by failing to consider whether the heat, humidity and altitude during the run were 'the type of unusual or out-of-the-ordinary climatic conditions that would qualify.' The judges also said it may have been illegal to rely on sickle cell trait for the denial under a federal law prohibiting employers from discrimination on the basis of genetic information. It was great timing: The girls were in high school and could use the monthly benefit of $1,530 to help pay for college. The family's Social Security and workers' compensation benefits would end soon. But the program was in no hurry. Nearly two years passed without a ruling despite inquiries from Afolayan and her lawyer. The Bureau of Justice Assistance director upheld the denial in February 2024, ruling that the climate on that day 15 years earlier wasn't 'unusually adverse.' The decision concluded the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act didn't apply since the program wasn't Afolayan's employer. Arnold & Porter, a Washington law firm now representing Afolayan pro bono, has appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Her attorney John Elwood said the program has gotten bogged down in minutiae while losing sight of the bigger picture: that an officer died during mandatory training. He said government lawyers are fighting him just as hard, 'if not harder,' than on any other case he's handled. Months after filing their briefs, oral arguments haven't been set.
Tom's Guide
an hour ago
- Tom's Guide
I've seen 41 movies in theaters so far this year — here are the 5 best and 5 worst
It's almost the halfway point of the year. And putting to one side my concerns about how worryingly fast 2025 is flying by, I'm using this opportunity to reflect on the year in cinema to date. Naturally, that means it's time to pick out the best (and worst) movies of 2025 so far. To be honest, I think it's been a pretty weak start to the year. There have been a lot more mid movies than ones that have truly captured my attention, and some of the low points have been pretty darn low. Thankfully, there has also been a handful of truly high-quality efforts. I'm a cinema obsessive, and visit my local multiplex at least once a week (often more), and so far have caught 41 movies on the big screen, from the biggest blockbuster to less high-profile indie projects. And, like many movie buffs, I keep a running ranking of everything I see. Below are the five movies that I've enjoyed most in 2025 so far, and the five that made me feel like a trip to the theatre really wasn't worth the effort. 'Ballerina' is a prime example that sometimes you need to give a movie time to settle into its groove before casting judgment. The first act is pretty shoddy, focusing on a routine backstory and some surprisingly uninspired action for the typically creative 'John Wick' franchise. However, the second half, and especially the grand finale, is backs-to-the-wall insanity with some of the best fistfights and shoot-outs this action series has ever seen. The creative use of an overpowered flamethrower had me hooting with delight in my seat. Unfortunately, the story never coalesces into anything all that interesting. Ana de Armas plays a trained assassin abandoning her creed to pursue revenge against those who killed her father; it's predictable stuff. But once the bullets start flying, or should that be the grenades start exploding (there's another brilliantly unique skirmish involving explosives), it's easy to forgive the story's shortcomings seem immaterial. The surprising amount of Keanu Reeves is also a pleasant surprise. So while 'Ballerina' isn't quite 'Wick' quality, it's certainly no blight on the franchise. As a huge horror fan, it takes quite a bit to spook me, but 'Hallow Road' really lodged itself in my psyche. I spent my late-night walk home from my local theatre constantly checking over my shoulder with the uneasy sense of being watched by someone, or something. This psychological thriller starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys is largely minimalist, but does a heck of a lot with very little, and the sinister atmosphere builds until a spine-chilling ending with a genuinely haunting final moment. The British movie centers on two parents (Pike and Rhys) contacted in the middle of the night by their distressed daughter, who's been involved in a traffic accident on a winding country road. Rushing to the scene, they attempt to reach her before anybody else, but the night becomes increasingly eerie as they get closer to their daughter's location. Set almost entirely within a single car, 'Hallow Road' squeezes so much tension from its intriguing setup, you might need to watch with the lights on. You probably guessed this one was coming. 'Sinners' is the breakout movie of 2025 to date, and I'm pretty confident it's a movie we're going to be talking about for a long time to come. Perhaps my most controversial take is that I much prefer the scene-setting first half, when the teeth come out, and the movie flips from a character-driven drama into a high-stakes vampire flick, a little bit of the magic is lost. But even the second half is still rip-roaring fun. Director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan are proving to be a bit of a Hollywood dream team, and the former is particularly captivating here in a dual lead role. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to start a juke joint, only for opening night to be spoiled somewhat by the arrival of creatures of the night. In a horror-thriller like this, it would be easy for the blood-soaked action to take priority, but the fact that Coogler spends so much time getting viewers to understand and like its protagonists only makes the experience richer. Streaming with purchase on Amazon or Apple Steven Soderbergh's 'Black Bag' is a tightly-crafted spy thriller that runs a lean 95 minutes and doesn't waste a moment of your time. Led by Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, it sees an accomplished intelligence officer forced to investigate his wife when she's suspected of being a double agent, testing his loyalty to his country and marriage in the process. It's got one of the year's best screenplays and crackles with drama and mystery. Rather than a globe-trotting secret agent escapade, 'Black Bag' is more focused on letting you explore the headspace of its complex cast of characters, and right up until the end, you're never completely sure who's on whose side. I should also shout out the stellar supporting cast, including Pierce Brosnan, Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page and (frequent scene-stealer) Marisa Abela. Sadly, 'Black Bag' underwhelmed at the box office, so if you skipped this one in theatres, I strongly encourage you to circle back now that it's streaming. Streaming on Peacock Calling 'Warfare' intense feels like a gross understatement. This snapshot of modern conflict puts you right in the thick of the chaos as a group of soldiers attempts to survive a brutal siege. Co-directed by 'Civil War' helmer Alex Garland (a movie I loved in 2024) and military veteran Ray Mendoza, 'Warfare' aims to be as authentic as possible and was written using real testimonies from those who served in the Iraq War. This gives the movie a realistic edge that makes it all the more impactful. There are so many smart decisions here, not least of which is the phenomenal use of sound, but the decision to set the movie in real time is my favorite. A scene where the soldiers are told support is six minutes out had me literally counting the seconds in my head, and it felt torturous. I can only imagine how those seconds must have felt like an eternity for those on the ground. Full of tension, visceral violence, and at times genuinely quite anxiety-inducing, 'Warfare' brings you into the frontline in a way that few movies have before it. Streaming with purchase on Amazon or Apple 'Until Dawn' is an unwelcome throwback to the era of pretty awful video game adaptations. It's a flick that almost seems to hold its source material in contempt. It offers an original story with only a few quick nods to the 2015 video game of the same name that inspired it. I thought we were out of the woods with these sorts of subpar adaptations, but I guess not. On a fundamental level, I like the concept of a time-loop horror that sees its protagonist killed each night, only to revive and have to start the grisly process over again, but 'Until Dawn' makes the killer mistake of not being frightening enough to spook viewers, while at the same time having very little fun with the twisty idea. Throw in an unsatisfying ending, which cruelly teases the movie fans of the game actually wanted to watch, and you've got the recipe for a horror that's only scary because of what a missed opportunity it represents. If you're craving something Until Dawn, just play the far superior PlayStation game instead. For a movie called 'Wolf Man,' it's pretty disappointing that we only briefly get to see the lead go full werewolf, and even when the beast takes over, the scares are lacking, and the transformation scene (which should be a skin-crawling highlight) is generally pretty weak. At least Julia Garner brings some emotion to the film, even if the lackluster material lets her down. Considering Leigh Whannell's previous attempt at modernising a classic Universal monster movie, 2020's 'Invisible Man,' was such a triumph, perhaps 'Wolf Man' was just a victim of my increased expectations. Either way, I found the movie totally lacking in scares or much tension to speak of, and the werewolves' design, which was much criticized before release, really missed the mark. The sequences where we get to see events from the perspective of the unfortunate soul afflicted with lycanism are novel, but these are a small saving grace on another extremely forgettable creature feature. Hopefully, if Whannell gets to revive another classic horror from Universal, he finds his cinematic form again, because 'Wolf Man' wasn't it. I don't hate 'A Minecraft Movie.' For starters, it includes a boppy new original song from one of my favorite artists, electronic pop maestro Dayglow, and I'll admit a few of the gags made me chuckle, but it's a sugar rush experience that eventually starts to grate on you. When pretty much every character in the main cast is presented as "the kooky one," it gets annoying fast. Also, the effects range from pretty solid to mid-2000s levels of obvious green screening. Perhaps the reason this movie didn't resonate with me is that I've never been a Minecraft player. I've dabbled with the popular creative sandbox, but references like 'chicken jockey' went completely over my head. Fans of the game seem to have a fondness for this flick, so perhaps it's just a case of 'old man yells at cloud,' but by the end, I was very much ready to leave the Minecraft world behind, and return to a reality where everything isn't made of blocks and I didn't have to listen to Jack Black and Jason Momoa's insipid banter any longer. What I found most frustrating about 'Flight Risk' is that I quite like the core setup. The movie sees a U.S. marshal (Michelle Dockery) attempt to transport a government witness (Topher Grace) across Alaska via a small passenger plane. The wrinkle is that the pilot (Mark Wahlberg) isn't who he claims to be, and is working for a ruthless mob boss with orders to eliminate the informant and ensure he never arrives at his destination. That's an idea perfect for a pulse-raising thriller; unfortunately, 'Flight Risk' completely stalls out. I'll give some credit to Wahlberg for really committing to the role; he even shaved his head daily for the movie rather than wear a bald cap, but his performance goes way over the top into corny territory. "Flight Risk" could have been pulpy fun, but instead it's so full of plot holes and characters making illogical decisions that it's more of an exercise in irritation than anything else. It doesn't help that the high-octane action at 30,00 feet is also pretty poorly shot. I suspect American readers probably haven't heard of 'Marching Powder.' Consider that a blessing. This crude British comedy aims to be a sort of 'Football Factory' for the modern era, but is deeply dislikeable pretty much from the first moment. Opening with a silly animated sequence stuffed with curse-filled attempts at comedy, things only get worse from here as we're introduced to protagonist Jack Jones (Danny Dyer), a loathsome anti-hero obsessed with fighting, alcohol and illicit substances. And seemingly proud of those vices. What's most maddening is that pretty much the whole movie follows a repetitive cycle of Jack swearing to his long-suffering wife, Dani (Stephanie Leonidas), he'll change, quickly falling back into his old ways, only to her promise this time will be different. This arc repeats a few times over, and then the movie unceremoniously ends. Frankly, I could probably get over this if the movie were at least funny, but it's most certainly not. 'Marching Powder' is just ugly.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Trooping the Colour 2025 -- why this year's ceremony is a defining moment for King Charles and the royals
LONDON — A new royal dawn is upon us. This year's Trooping the Colour comes at a moment when the British monarchy is in desperate need of a show of strength — and King Charles III is determined to prove he's robust, stoic and unshaken despite his ongoing health battles. Saturday's event may be steeped in pomp and pageantry, but it carries deeper meaning — symbolizing resilience and stability, and sending a clear message that the 76-year-old monarch is intent on projecting endurance, family unity, and unwavering duty to the British public. 9 King Charles III is determined to prove he's robust, stoic and unshaken despite his health battles at this year's Trooping the Colour ceremony. Getty Images Trooping the Colour is a batch of ceremonial events that mark and celebrate the birthday of King Charles III — though the monarch's actual birthday is in November. While His Majesty continues his cancer treatment, palace aides were nonetheless directed to ensure this year's ceremony matched the grandeur, spectacle and tradition of previous years, The Post hears. So, what makes this year's event more special than ever for the King? With fewer working royals in the picture, not to mention the continued scrutiny of the monarchy's role in modern Britain, this year's ceremony carries extra weight. 'It's a show of strength,' a palace source tells The Post. 'The King is serving his country, and he's not going to let a diagnosis get in the way of that.' 9 The King and Queen, alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales with their children on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2024. PA Images via Getty Images 9 In 2023, the King rode Noble, a black mare horse presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, during the ceremony. Getty Images Insiders tell the Post that Charles insisted on a hands-on approach in planning this year's event, with some help from the future King, Prince William — underscoring the pressures of succession and maintaining public confidence in the monarchy. 'For the King, Trooping has always been important,' the King's former personal butler, Grant Harrold, exclusively told The Post. 'It's when all the royal family get together to show a united front.' This year's ceremony will also see Charles forfeit riding horseback — something he did for the first time last year. Typically, Charles would ride on horseback from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade. In 2023, the King rode Noble — a black mare horse presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police — during the ceremony. The move marked the first time a monarch had ridden in the parade since Queen Elizabeth II in 1986. However, given his ailing health, the monarch will be driven to the parade in a carriage so that he can watch the ceremony from a podium. 9 The King and Queen, alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales with their children on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2023. Getty Images 9 Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been notably missing from royal events since 2020. Getty Images Since announcing his cancer diagnosis to the world in February 2024, the King has been receiving weekly outpatient treatment at the London Clinic. The Post is told that Charles is not looking to ride horseback at an official engagement ever again. 'Charles won't be on horseback but in a carriage for the second time this year,' Harrold said. 'It's important to note that Queen Elizabeth transitioned to carriages even earlier than Charles.' 'I think Charles would like to be on horseback,' Harrold said. 'But they've decided it is better for him to be in the carriage. It will likely become more of a tradition moving forward.' While the same level of splendor as previous years is sure to take place, the Buckingham Palace balcony lineup looks a little different these days. 9 Princes William and Harry with their father King Charles and late mother, Princess Diana, as well as Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 1989. Getty Images 9 Princes William and Harry with their father King Charles and late mother, Princess Diana, as well as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 1988. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Charles, and his wife, Queen Camilla, 77, will stand in the middle of the balcony, and the couple will be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7. 'Last year, it was the Edinburghs, Princess Anne, the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their family,' Harrold notes of 2024's Trooping the Colour ceremony. 'It's certainly been scaled back in recent years, which aligns with the King's wish to have a more streamlined royal family.' Notably missing are Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, and their two children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4. With tensions between the Windsor and Sussex families deeper than ever, the public glimpse of the monarchy under William's future reign may already be unfolding. 9 The British royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2018. WireImage 'Harry has very much distanced himself from the family, and there's some tension, so there's no sign of him coming back at the moment.' 'Nevertheless, we'll see all the senior royals on the balcony, which is a much smaller family than we've had in the past,' added Harrold, who worked for Charles for seven years when he was the Prince of Wales. As his family's united front and show of solidarity takes center stage Saturday, The Post is told that the Duke of Sussex will not be reaching out with congratulatory messages to his estranged father. 'I don't think Harry will be in touch, even though it's the King's official birthday, his actual birthday is at the end of the year,' Harrold told The Post. With the continued absence of the Invictus Games founder and the 'Suits' alum, one senior member of the royal family is guaranteed to be stepping up to the plate: Princess Anne. The Princess Royal, 74, who is widely regarded as one of the hardest-working royals within the Firm, is expected to ride horseback at ceremony alongside William and Prince Edward. Anne, who turns 75 in August, is not letting the injury she sustained last year get in the way of her showing support for her brother. The beloved royal spent a total of five days in the hospital with head injuries following a horse-related incident last June. 9 The British royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 1985. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images The ordeal had left her concussed, prompting her to experience subsequent memory loss after she was struck by a horse on the grounds of her Gatcombe Park estate. Speaking about the ordeal last July, Charles' only sister said the experience taught her that 'every day is a bonus.' 'You're jolly lucky…if you can continue to be more or less compos mentis, and last summer I was very close to not being. Take each day as it comes, they say.'
