A lip reader has revealed what King Charles said to Queen Camilla during Saturday’s Trooping the Colour royal carriage procession along The Mall in central London
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Thousands of people watched as the King and Queen, along with other senior royals, travelled from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade to take part in the Trooping the Colour ceremony celebrating the King’s official birthday.
The King and Queen were in the middle of a Sovereign’s Escort provided by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment during the royal family’s carriage procession.
Riding in the formation were the royal colonels – William, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards; Princess Anne, Colonel of the Blues and Royals; and Prince Edward, Colonel of the Scots Guards.
As the procession was broadcast live, the King appeared to be having a conversation with his wife. Lip-reading specialist Nicola Hickling gave an interpretation to the Daily Express of what was said, based on snippets she gathered from the live broadcast.
Ms Hickling said that Charles allegedly told Camilla: “I’m in a right mess.”
She revealed their conversation.
Charles said: “Could you get up? It’s trapped. I need to pull it out so I am comfortable.” Camilla then stood to get off Charles’s coat.
In another clip, Charles says: “Come on. Let’s wave.”
Later, the couple appeared to be talking about an apparent meeting on Monday.
Charles: “I’m in a right mess, (mumbles) it’s a mess.”
Camilla: “Oh, don’t worry.”
Charles: “We shall wait and see them on Monday; it must be done.”
The parade featured some of the nation’s most prestigious regiments. The route was led by the Band of the Household Cavalry, with two shire horses bearing solid silver kettle drums and musicians.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children – Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight – watched from the first-floor window of the Duke of Wellington’s former office overlooking the parade ground.
Princess Kate and her three children stood out from the sea of red uniforms and bearskin hats in their colour-coordinated outfits.
Kate, 44, wore a baby-blue outfit with a matching hat and white heels.
Meanwhile, Princess Charlotte, 11, wore a white dress with a ribbon in her hair and looked like a mirror image of her mum as she sat opposite her in the horse-drawn carriage.
Future king Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, eight, were mini versions of their dad, Prince William, wearing blue ties and similar suits, while William wore his red ceremonial military uniform.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Princess Royal with her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, also attended.
The King’s annual celebration ended with a roaring RAF flypast over Buckingham Palace, which Prince Louis appeared very excited about. As the Red Arrows soared overhead, Prince Louis looked especially animated by the planes as he stood alongside his parents and siblings. The eight-year-old playfully leaned to one side during the event to get a better view.
Afterwards, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared heart-warming behind-the-scenes clips.
The slick footage, posted to William and Kate’s social media accounts, showed the royals preparing for the spectacle, mounting their horses and getting into their carriages before returning to Buckingham Palace, where they fed the horses before the big balcony appearance.
Trooping the Colour is a nod to the centuries-old traditions of the various royal troops and ranks, who carried or ‘trooped’ different colours to help them stand out on the battlefield.
