What disgraced Prince Andrew was meant to do at Trooping the Colour before he was stripped of titles
Trooping the Colour, a tradition steeped in royal history since King George III's reign in 1760, is set to see an impressive 1,400 guards, 400 musicians and 200 horses parade down The Mall to mark the official birthday of the sovereign.
This year, on Saturday, 15 June, the King will ride in a carriage with Queen Camilla for the first time as he continues to focus on his cancer treatment.
Directly behind them, the three royal colonels will ride on horseback, representing their different regiments. Prince William will represent the Welsh Guards, Princess Anne will ride in Blues and Royals uniform and, for the first time since he took over the role, Prince Edward will represent the Scots Guards.
In past Trooping the Colour parades, Prince Andrew has joined the colonels as he was formerly the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. However, this year he won't be present as all his military titles were stripped and returned to the late Queen.
In January 2022, it was announced that the late Queen had decided to strip her second son of his military titles, including his role as the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
The statement at the time read: "With the Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal Patronages have been returned to The Queen.
"The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties."
Prince Andrew's role as Colonel was subsequently handed to Queen Camilla by King Charles - a decision which follows tradition as this role has typically been held by the monarch's consort.
The Duke of York, who previously served in the Falklands War, took over as colonel from his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2017. However, a source revealed to The Sun: "There have been many nails in the Duke of York's coffin and any deeply-desired wish to return to public duty but this is, without doubt, the final of final nails."
In a bold move, the City of York stripped Prince Andrew of his 'Freedom of the city of York' honour, an accolade he received in 1987 after his return from the Falklands War. The city councillors voted decisively to sever ties with the Duke and "erase his stain of an association with the city".
In a further twist, representatives from York had called on the the Queen to intervene and compel Prince Andrew to relinquish his Royal title, which he has held since birth in 1960. However, this presented a more complex issue as the Queen could not unilaterally remove a peerage.
Should there be a push to strip Andrew of his title, it would require legislative action by Parliament, necessitating approval from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
