Why Isn’t Prince William Riding With Kate Middleton At The Trooping The Colour Parade?
Trooping the Colour is the annual parade celebrating the birthday of Queen Elizabeth. She was actually born in April, but Trooping the Colour is the birthday of “Queen” Elizabeth, or the anniversary of her coronation. One only has to look at photos of the event to see that this isn’t just a parade, it’s an event filled with ceremonies and grandeur, and everything and everyone has their place.
Prince William could be seen on horseback alongside his father, Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his Aunt, Princess Anne, while the wives of the two princes, Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall rode together in a horse-drawn carriage, reports Town & Country. Also in a separate horse-drawn carriage was Prince Harry and his new wife, Meghan Markle.
But people are scratching their heads trying to figure out who goes where and why, and if Harry is with his wife, why isn’t William? Or rather, why isn’t Prince Harry on horseback? To break it all down, you need to understand how each member served in the British military, and what their individual designation in the service was, according to Town & Country.
If you really know your stuff, the hat that each royal family member wears, their uniform, and the formation of their buttons can tell you a lot, but since most of us don’t possess this knowledge, this is why Princes William and Charles are on horseback and Prince Harry isn’t.
Even though Prince William and Prince Harry are both sons of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, and grandsons of Queen Elizabeth, only Prince William is a member of the Queen’s guard, complete with full bearskin hat. Princess Anne and her brother, Prince Andrew are also members of the Queen’s guard, but at this time, Prince Harry is not.
Royal reporter Diana Pearl says that Prince Charles and Prince William hold the same rank, which is why they are dressed alike and on horseback.
“Prince William and Prince Charles are royal colonels, which is a position given by the Queen to a member of the royal family that serves as Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment in the British army or navy.”
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are also royal colonels, but the parade is for the queen, and Prince Philip is getting up there in years and just had a hip replacement. And while there are other family members who are royal colonels in the Queen’s guard, in this parade, only Princes Charles and William are Colonels of the Household Division.
