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| Trooping the Colour parade begins | Trooping the Colour parade begins |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Queen is celebrating her official birthday with the Trooping the Colour parade in central London. | The Queen is celebrating her official birthday with the Trooping the Colour parade in central London. |
| More than 1,100 soldiers are taking part in the display of military pomp and pageantry on Horse Guards Parade. | More than 1,100 soldiers are taking part in the display of military pomp and pageantry on Horse Guards Parade. |
| The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived from Buckingham Palace by carriage, accompanied by Prince Charles and the Princess Royal on horseback. | |
| Princes William and Harry rode in a second carriage with their stepmother, the Duchess of Cornwall. | |
| The Queen's actual birthday was on 21 April, when she turned 82. | The Queen's actual birthday was on 21 April, when she turned 82. |
| The tradition of two birthdays dates back to the time when, if monarchs were born in winter, the weather was deemed unsuitable for outdoor events. | The tradition of two birthdays dates back to the time when, if monarchs were born in winter, the weather was deemed unsuitable for outdoor events. |
| Welsh Guards | Welsh Guards |
| Traditionally, before battle, Colours - or flags - were carried, or "trooped", along the rank of soldiers so they could be seen and recognised. | Traditionally, before battle, Colours - or flags - were carried, or "trooped", along the rank of soldiers so they could be seen and recognised. |
| In 1748, it was decided the trooping would also be used to honour the sovereign's birthday. | In 1748, it was decided the trooping would also be used to honour the sovereign's birthday. |
| The Colour being paraded this year is that of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. | The Colour being paraded this year is that of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. |
| Prince Charles, as Colonel of the Welsh Guards, is joined by the Princess Royal, who is Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards. Trooping the Colour The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, first appeared in 1947In 1955, Trooping the Colour was cancelled because of the general strikeIn 1981, six blank shots were fired during the parade class="" href="/1/hi/scotland/7453788.stm">MoD criticised over Nimrod flypast | |
| William and Harry both appeared in the uniform of their regiment, the Blues and Royals. | |
| There has been some criticism of the decision to include a Nimrod aircraft in the Trooping the Colour flypast, after a coroner ruled three weeks that the fleet was un-airworthy. | |
| Fourteen men were killed when their Nimrod exploded over Afghanistan two years ago, and the father of one of them, Graham Knight, said it was "like sticking two fingers up at the coroner". | |
| First woman | |
| The route along The Mall will be lined by members of four of the five Foot Guards regiments of the Household Division - the Welsh Guards, Grenadier Guards, Scots Guards and the Coldstream Guards - wearing bearskin hats and red tunics. | The route along The Mall will be lined by members of four of the five Foot Guards regiments of the Household Division - the Welsh Guards, Grenadier Guards, Scots Guards and the Coldstream Guards - wearing bearskin hats and red tunics. |
| The Massed Bands and the Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry will also take part, as will the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. | The Massed Bands and the Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry will also take part, as will the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. |
| For the first time, the King's Troops will be led by a female commanding officer - Major Erica Bridge. | For the first time, the King's Troops will be led by a female commanding officer - Major Erica Bridge. |
| After the Queen takes the salute on Horse Guards, the royals will head back to Buckingham Palace to gather on the balcony. | After the Queen takes the salute on Horse Guards, the royals will head back to Buckingham Palace to gather on the balcony. |
| In an interview with the BBC, Prince Charles said Trooping the Colour was a "stirring and moving occasion". | In an interview with the BBC, Prince Charles said Trooping the Colour was a "stirring and moving occasion". |
| "It's splendidly British and I hope it will go on for as long as possible because I think the world would be a sadder, drearier and greyer place without it," he said. | "It's splendidly British and I hope it will go on for as long as possible because I think the world would be a sadder, drearier and greyer place without it," he said. |