For the First Time in 70 Years, the Queen Won’t Take the Salute at Trooping the Colour

We might only see her on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Queen Elizabeth
(Image credit: Indigo for Getty Images)
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For the first time in her historic 70-year reign, Her Majesty won’t receive the salute at Trooping the Colour this year, with Prince Charles, Prince William, and Princess Anne likely to receive it in her stead, the Mirror reports.

Though the Queen won’t take the salute during the military display at the Horse Guards Parade, The Sunday Telegraph reports, via the Mirror, that the hope is she will at least attend part of the June 2 ceremony, “which is being modified with her comfort in mind on a momentous year for her reign,” the Mirror writes.

Her Majesty continues to experience what the Palace has referred to as “episodic mobility problems,” and her attendance at varying events is often a game-time decision. For example, she didn’t attend the State Opening of Parliament on May 10—Charles and William went in her place—but she felt well enough to attend the Royal Windsor Horse Show that weekend and a surprise engagement at London’s Paddington Station alongside youngest son Prince Edward.

Handing off the salute “will be seen as another sign of the Queen, who is 96, delegating her duties in her advanced age,” the Mirror reports.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, one possible Trooping the Colour scenario includes the Queen traveling in a carriage from Buckingham Palace to briefly inspect the troops—as she does every Trooping the Colour—before retiring for the rest of the ceremony, leaving Charles, William, and Anne on horseback to represent her at the parade ground. The Queen would later reappear on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the traditional—and much buzzed about, especially this year—moment with members of the royal family.

Another plan in place would have the Queen appear only on the balcony at the conclusion of the ceremony.

“Either way…she will not be present for most of the parade,” the Mirror reports.

Heretofore, Her Majesty has “always been present at Horse Guards Parade for the duration of the ceremony, either on horseback or, in more recent years, seated on a dais,” the Mirror writes.

Her presence at all Platinum Jubilee events, the outlet reports, “will be confirmed only on the day of each event.”

Rachel Burchfield
Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.