The play was the same, but the actors had changed. There were the huge drum horses, the farriers with glinting axes and the buglers. The Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade grounds was a sea of red tunics.
The crowds were respectable — but not huge.
They’ve been doing this for more than 260 years — since George II — and they are very good at it.
For the past seven decades, this was the annual honor bestowed upon Queen Elizabeth II — and last year the celebration was an especially big one, marking her Platinum Jubilee.
She died in September at her castle in Scotland. Then there was her funeral, with 10 days of mourning, and afterward, the coronation of Charles at Westminster Abbey in May.
The royal family has been on near-constant display over the last year. Not only has the crown been passed, but Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have dominated headlines, with the release of their self-produced six-hour documentary for Netflix and Harry’s best-selling memoir, “Spare.” The book alleged that his father, Charles; brother, Prince William; and stepmother, now Queen Camilla, took active roles in press attacks against the couple, who now live in the United States.
Harry and Meghan did not attend.
Anyway, no golden carriage ride for Charles this time.
At 74 years old, Charles rode on horseback throughout the two hours of parading. He reviewed the troops, offering up smart salutes, his face mostly obscured by the tall black bearskin cap on his head and the chin strap below his bottom lip.
A lifelong equestrian, a former polo player, the new king looked confident in the saddle, his white-gloved hand steady on the reins of his steed, named Noble, a gift to the palace from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Charles is the first king to appear at the birthday parade since 1950, the last year King George VI attended. Elizabeth appeared, side saddle, in her sick father’s place in 1951. George died in 1952. Elizabeth last rode in the trooping in 1986, though she continued to ride privately at her estates well into her 90s.
On Saturday, Charles was accompanied on horseback by his son and heir Prince William, the Prince of Wales, and two of the king’s siblings, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The disgraced Prince Andrew was nowhere to be seen.
In the parade, the “colour” refers to a flag featuring the uniform color and insignia of a particular army unit. Before modern communications, “Regimental Colours” were used as rallying points in battle, helping soldiers figure out where they needed to be and distinguishing their unit from others. The “trooping” bit refers to young officers assigned to march between ranks of troops displaying their flag.
And though the parade celebrates his “official birthday,” the June date is just a chance to offer summer procession. Charles’s real birthday is Nov. 14, 1948.
The BBC host of these ceremonies, Huw Edwards, pronounced the whole show “very, very smart.”
One of his guests reported that afterward, the horses are rewarded with “recovery rations,” including carrots and apples. The king and queen might have something stronger.
No soldiers fainted, as the skies were overcast and temperatures in the high 70s. Earlier in the week, while practicing, at least three troops crumpled in the heat on hotter days.
In a carriage rode the new Queen Camilla, wearing a kind of bearskin fascinator hat. Beside her was Catherine, the Princess of Wales, and her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, age 5, who provided the photographers with an image of the day, by holding his nose.
Perhaps it was the horses.
After returning to Buckingham Palace, the king and queen and senior working royals appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowds as Royal Air Force helicopters, jets and historical airplanes flew in formation overhead. It appeared a slimmed-down group portrait, intentional and not.