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Queen Elizabeth II and
The Duke Of Edinburgh arrive to inspect the troops at London's Horse Guards.
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The Queen celebrates her official birthday today with the
Trooping the Colour parade.
The annual event will see
more than 1,000 soldiers taking part in the traditional display of pomp and
pageantry.
Press Association:
The Duchess of Cambridge
will join other members of the Royal Family at the spectacle - her first public
appearance since she left hospital after giving birth to daughter Princess
Charlotte on May 2.
And there is speculation
Prince George may join his parents on Buckingham Palace's balcony where members
of the monarchy gather to wave to the crowds in The Mall, following the
military display, and watch the traditional fly-past of aircraft.
The Queen and Duke of
Edinburgh will ride in a vintage carriage from Buckingham Palace, along The
Mall to Horse Guards Parade in central London where the event will be staged.
Kate, the Duchess of
Cornwall and Prince Harry will travel together in another coach.
The Duke of York will
ride with his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and the Duke of Kent
and t he Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will be in the final carriage.
The Earl and Countess of
Wessex are away representing the Queen at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of
Sweden to former glamour model Sofia Hellqvist.
The Prince of Wales, who
is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and
Royals, and the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, will be on
horseback.
The procession will be
accompanied by a Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry, made up of Life
Guards and Blues and Royals, in their silver and gold breastplates and plumed
helmets.
The Colour being paraded
on Horse Guards this year is the flag of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.
The Prince of Wales
Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards will troop the Queen's Colour presented to
them by the monarch at Windsor Castle in April.
It was only in 2013 that
the battalion last Trooped the Colour but they are doing so again to mark their
centenary year.
Since the last Queen's
Birthday Parade, elements of the battalion have been on training exercises at
home and abroad in places like the Falklands, Canada, Kenya, Kazakhstan and
Belize.
Four of the five Foot
Guards regiments of the Household Division - the Welsh Guards, Grenadier
Guards, Scots Guards and the Coldstream Guards - will march in the parade
wearing bearskin hats and red tunics.
The Household Division
Bands and Corps of Drums will also take part, as will the King's Troop Royal
Horse Artillery who, following the parade, will fire a 41-gun salute in Green
Park to mark the Queen's official birthday.
After the Queen takes the
salute on Horse Guards, the Royal Family will head back to Buckingham Palace
and gather on the balcony to watch the RAF fly-past.
Among the 31 aircraft
taking part are Spitfires and Hurricanes, made famous in the Battle of Britain
75 years ago, and also modern jets like the multi-role Typhoon fighter while
the Red Arrows will be the finale.
Trooping the Colour
originated from traditional preparations for battle.
Colours, or flags, were
carried, or ''trooped'', down the rank so that they could be seen and recognized
by the soldiers.
In the 18th century,
guards from the royal palaces assembled daily on Horse Guards to ''troop the
colours'', and in 1748 it was announced that the parade would also mark the
Sovereign's official birthday.
The Queen's actual
birthday was on April 21, when she turned 89.
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