The emotional meaning behind Princess Charlotte's brooch at Trooping the Colour - as she pays tribute to her late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II
The young royal, 10, pinned the historic Diamond Horseshoe brooch to the front of her light blue dress for her grandfather King Charles' birthday parade today - with Charlotte first wearing the piece of jewellery to Queen Elizabeth's funeral in 2022.
The brooch, which has been in the Royal Family for generations, had been a gift from her 'Gan-Gan' the Queen, and was a fitting nod to Her Majesty's love of horses.
Writing on Instagram at the time, the user by the name of historyfamousjewels, wrote: 'At the funeral of QEII [Queen Elizabeth II] Princess Charlotte of Wales wore a small diamond horse shoe brooch.
'The BBC states that it was a gift from HM QEII to the Princess. Fellow poster, Franck @britishroyalfamilywealth recognised that it is a brooch worn by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in the 1920s.
'Franck also noted that Leslie Field stated that the brooch was given to QEQM [Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother] by Queen Mary.
'I would like to pay tribute to the composure of the young Princess during what must have been an overwhelming experience.'
Charlotte took after her mother today as they wore matching blue dresses, with Kate picking a blue coat dress from Catherine Walker - complete with a wide-brimmed hat by Juliette Botterill - for today's Trooping the Colour.
The young royal, 10, pinned the historic Diamond Horseshoe brooch to the front of her light blue dress for her grandfather King Charles' birthday parade today - with Charlotte first wearing the piece of jewellery to Queen Elizabeth's funeral in 2022
Kate accessorised with the Irish Guards regimental brooch as well as the Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings in a sweet tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. They were crafted from pearls gifted to the Queen and Philip from the ruler of Bahrain at the time of their wedding in 1947.
Ahead of the morning's celebrations, crowds of well-wishers and royal fans had started lining the Mall. If the cardboard cutouts they carried were any indication, the Princess of Wales ' arrival was most eagerly anticipated.
Photos showed a group of Britons holding up a life-sized picture of the Princess of Wales, wearing the red, long-sleeved Alexander McQueen dress she most famously donned for the Diamond Jubilee pageant in 2012.
Another person was carting around a cut-out of King Charles, dressed in full military regalia, in a show of support for the monarch as he continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
And of course the Wales children are always popular with royal watchers.
Last year's event showed heartwarming behind-the-scenes footage, featuring the mother-of-three comforting her daughter.
In the clip, Charlotte and George could be seen waiting nervously in the doorway as Kate quietly smoothed her daughter's locks.
The nine-year-old could be seen anxiously moving around as she clasped her hands in front of her, and quietly said a few words to her mother while watching the carriage approach.
Then, as the royals walked in synchronised steps towards their seats Charlotte seemed to take a deep breath, while Kate tenderly took her hand.
And steadied by her family, as she waited in the carriage to set off, she could be seen smiling happily through the window as they chatted together in the coach.
Trooping the Colour is a centuries-old tradition that marks the Sovereign's official birthday.
It dates back to the 17th century and is rooted in battlefield custom, when regimental flags, or 'colours,' were trooped in front of soldiers to ensure they could be recognised amid the smoke of combat.
Last week a full-dress rehearsal, known as The Colonel's Review, took place serving as the final run-through before the King's official celebration.
This year, the honour of trooping the Colour falls to the Coldstream Guards, who will officially present their regimental flag, known as the Colour, to King Charles.
Following the Trooping ceremony, all eyes will be on the royal balcony to see who King Charles invites to wave to the crowds.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will be front and centre on the balcony to watch the Red Arrows flypast, but it expected a host of senior royals will be alongside them.
Prince William, 42, is expected to be joined by the Princess of Wales, 43 and their children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.
Princess Anne will feature with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, 70.
Prince Edward, 61, - who like Anne will be fresh from his part in the procession - is expected on the balcony with his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, 60
They are likely to be joined by their daughter Lady Louise, 21.
Their son James, the Earl of Wessex, 17, did not make an appearance last year and may not attend the ceremony this time around either.
The Duke of Kent, 89, will likely also be among the royals on the balcony, with the Duke of Gloucester, 80, and his 78-year-old wife Birgitte, the Duchess.
As expected, Prince Harry, 40, and his wife Meghan Markle, 43, are not attending this year's celebrations.
Having chosen to walk away from being working royals, they have not been present at Trooping the Colour since 2019.
The other notable absentee will be Prince Andrew, 65, who remains exiled from public royal events amid the fallout from his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and the claims made by late accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Andrew's daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 35, are not expected to be there either amid Charles' desire for a slimmed-down monarchy and to keep the focus on working royals.
Members of the royal family are expected to watch the flypast - including the RAF Red Arrows and a range of planes and helicopters - from the balcony.
In previous years it has been a moment where the royal children shine - with little Prince Louis delighting fans last year as pretended to fly one of the planes, appearing to screw up his face as he mimicked the engine's deafening noise.
The route for the flypast has not been officially confirmed, but the Military Air Shows has revealed an air restrictions map which shows the expected official route.
Proposed restrictions are in the vicinity of the North Sea, East Anglia, Essex and London.
Its expected the flypast will go over Buckingham Palace at 1pm.
Held traditionally on the second Saturday in June, regardless of the Sovereign's actual date of birth, the celebrations have marked the monarch's official birthday since the mid-1700s.
Queen Elizabeth attended all but two of her Trooping the Colours, missing it in 1955 when a national rail strike resulted in the event being cancelled and in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions.
The parade is open to members of the public through an online ballot with ticketing ranging from £10 to £30 and is broadcast live on the BBC.
Today's celebrations come following reports that the King will no longer ride in the Trooping the Colour due to his ongoing cancer treatments.
As a former polo player and one of the Royal Family 's most accomplished equestrians, the monarch rode for years in the parade - both for his mother's official birthday celebrations and then for his own.
But he will not appear on horseback at the event this weekend and will instead travel in a carriage for the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and back, according to The Sunday Times.
It is understood that he will not ride at the parade again.
His illness is said to have curtailed the 'monarch in the saddle' tradition that he briefly revived in 2023, the first time the monarch had ridden in the parade since Queen Elizabeth did in 1986.
The late Queen rode her trusty mare Burmese until the horse was retired when she began travelling in a carriage until her final appearance in 2022, where she took the salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
The King, 76, was admitted to hospital for treatment to an enlarged prostate in January 2024 and shortly after was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.
As a former polo player and one of the Royal Family 's most accomplished equestrians, the monarch rode for years in the parade - both for his mother's official birthday celebrations and then for his own. But he will not appear on horseback at the event this weekend and will instead travel in a carriage for the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and back, according to The Sunday Times. Pictured earlier this month
It meant that he travelled with Queen Camilla in a carriage at last year's parade to be safer and more comfortable.
This came a year after what is now known to be his last appearance on horseback for the celebration, which did not go particularly smoothly for Charles.
He was riding Noble, a black mare which appeared unsettled throughout - at one point even breaking into a canter in the Mall.
One television commentator described Noble's behaviour as 'if it was going into the starting stalls at Newmarket'.
And while Charles is not expected to ride at the parade again, this weekend's event will be the first time that the Princess Royal has ridden in public since she was hospitalised following a suspected horse injury last year.
Anne, 74, plans to ride in the parade this year in her role as gold stick, the colonel of the Blues and Royals, alongside the Prince of Wales as colonel of the Welsh Guards and the Duke of Edinburgh as colonel of the Scots Guards and London Guards.
What is Trooping the Colour?
The Trooping of the Colour has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for more than 260 years.
Over 1400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians come together each June in a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare to mark the Sovereign's official birthday.
The streets are lined with crowds waving flags as the parade moves from Buckingham Palace and down The Mall to Horse Guard's Parade, alongside Members of the Royal Family on horseback and in carriages.
The display closes with an RAF fly-past, watched by Members of the Royal Family from Buckingham Palace balcony.
Once the Sovereign has arrived at Horse Guard's Parade in Whitehall, they are greeted by a Royal salute and carry out an inspection of the troops, who are fully trained and operational soldiers wearing the ceremonial uniform of red tunics and bearskin hats.
After the military bands have performed, the escorted Regimental Colour, or flag, is processed down the ranks of soldiers. Over one hundred words of command are used by the Officer in Command of the Parade to direct the several hundred soldiers.
Once the Foot Guards have marched past the Sovereign, they ride back to Buckingham Palace at the head of the soldiers, before taking the salute again at the Palace from a dais.
The Sovereign is then joined by other Members of the Royal Family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past by the Royal Air Force. A 41-gun salute is also fired in Green Park to mark the occasion.
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