In Pictures: Trooping the Colour

Prince William at Trooping the Colour — Image caption,
Prince William - Flight Lieutenant Wales - joined more than 1,000 soldiers and horses for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horse Guards Parade. It is held to mark the Queen's official birthday.

The Queen in her carriage during Trooping the Colour

The Queen - dressed in a royal blue Angela Kelly coat and hat - attended the event without her husband, Prince Philip. He remains in a London hospital after exploratory bowel surgery.

The Duchess of Cambridge made her last public appearance before the birth of her first child, due next month. Wearing a pale pink Alexander McQueen coat and hat, she sat alongside the Duchess of Cornwall to watch the parade.

Crowds - including friends and family of the soldiers taking part - lined the Mall. Later they watched the traditional RAF flypast, involving Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster aircraft, and a display by the Red Arrows.

Foot Guards march to the Horse Guards Parade, as part of the Trooping the Colour parade, in London

The display of pomp and pageantry originates from traditional preparations for battle. Colours were carried or "trooped" down the rank so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.

Guards march down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony

The Colour being paraded on Horse Guards this year was the flag of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. The unit has recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.

Members of the public watch from windows during Trooping the Colour, in Horse Guards Parade, London

Some spectators found a prime vantage point to watch Saturday's proceedings. Among the other members of the Royal Family in attendance were the Duke of York and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex with their daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Harry, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace

Following a 41-gun salute, fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park, the royals gathered on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch the fly-past.

Queen Elizabeth II inspects the Household Cavalry during the Colour at Horse Guards Parade

The Queen celebrated her actual birthday on 21 April, when she turned 87, but today's ceremony marked her official birthday - which is always in June.

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