King Charles to attend Trooping the Colour

King Charles III will take part in next month’s Trooping the Colour despite his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The King is expected to inspect soldiers from a carriage rather than on horseback.

It is unclear whether Catherine, the Princess of Wales, will attend as she continues chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer.

The ceremony, to be held on 15 June, traditionally sees the Royal Family gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Last year, the King inspected troops from horseback during the event, which is filled with pomp and military pageantry and held to mark the sovereign’s official birthday.

This time, he will conduct the review seated in an Ascot landau carriage with Queen Camilla.

Catherine’s role at the traditional Colonel’s Review – a rehearsal the week before – will be taken by a military official, Lt Gen James Bucknall.

He will carry out the role of Inspecting Officer on behalf of the princess.

Gen Bucknall is the former Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and has attended every King’s Birthday Parade since 2009, when he was appointed Colonel of the Coldstream Guards.

It is unclear whether the princess will attend Trooping the Colour – one of the highlights of the royal calendar – in some capacity.

Last week, a Kensington Palace spokesman said: “The princess is not expected to return to work until it’s cleared by her medical team”.

She revealed she was receiving treatment in March following a cancer diagnosis.

That followed an announcement in January that the princess had undergone abdominal surgery.

The King has recently returned to public-facing duties while still receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

He had temporarily stopped most of his public engagements after his diagnosis in February.

Since his return to duties was confirmed just over four weeks ago, he has been carrying out a busy programme of engagements.

But last week’s surprise decision by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a summer general election has meant the monarchy has postponed any engagements “which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign”.