Trooping the Colour is not this coming weekend, but the weekend after, on June 12th. Weirdly, Trooping the Colour falls in the middle of Britain hosting the three-day G7 Summit in Cornwall. World leaders will be hosted in Cornwall, and the Queen is supposed to be there on June 11th (probably a day earlier) to formally greet the world leaders. Then she’ll f–k off to Windsor on June 12th for her pandemic-style fake-birthday parade, then maybe she’ll return to Cornwall after that? It sounds stupidly busy for a 95-year-old queen, but I guess they can’t just change the Trooping the Colour date on a whim. The Daily Mail says that the Queen will be accompanied by the Duke of Kent for Trooping, and then she’s bringing out the senior royals for the G7 summit.
The Queen will have a ‘plus one’ for her official birthday parade in Windsor next month as the Royal Family continues to rally round the bereaved Monarch, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Her Majesty cut a solitary figure last year at a scaled-back parade – also known as Trooping the Colour – in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle. The pandemic meant it was switched from its usual venue at Horse Guards Parade in London. However, for this year’s Trooping the Colour on June 12, the Queen will be accompanied by her cousin, the Duke of Kent. He was with her at the 2013 ceremony when Prince Philip was recovering from surgery.
Palace sources say that after the limitations imposed by the pandemic and a period of mourning for the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen will be increasing her personal engagements. As well as Trooping the Colour, which will feature more military personnel than last year, she will meet US President Joe Biden when he arrives next month for the G7 summit of leading industrial nations.
While plans are still to be finalised, it is believed the Queen, 95, will travel to Cornwall – where the summit is being held – so she can also meet the presidents and prime ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. As part of a strategy to impress the world leaders, it is expected that the Monarch will be joined by Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Charles, an avid environmentalist, has told aides he is keen to meet Mr Biden, who in February reversed the decision by his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty to tackle climate change. Having senior Royals travel to Cornwall for the summit, held at Carbis Bay between June 11 and 13, would avoid the challenges of arranging a state visit for Mr Biden in London under any Covid-19 restrictions.
It is thought the President will be invited for a full state visit at a later date. He will be the 14th US leader to meet the Queen. Since 1951, she has met every occupant of the White House apart from Lyndon B. Johnson.
First off, sending Liz, Chaz, Camilla, Billiam and Keen Buttons to meet with G7 leaders will create several international incidents. I was going to make a joke about Biden and malarkey, but honestly… it’s just nice to have an American president who doesn’t make an ass out of himself while traveling abroad. The absolute shame I felt as an American when other countries had to deal with Donald Trump… God, it was rough. Biden is a seasoned diplomat and he’s folksy as hell, so I imagine he’ll be well-received in Cornwall across the board, regardless of royal shenanigans. As for the Duke of Kent acting as Liz’s plus-one… I guess there was no one else? Charles will be in Cornwall on the 12th. Prince Michael of Kent is being fake-punished for his profiteering from royal connections. Prince Andrew is wanted by the FBI. I guess the Earl of Wessex (Edward) could accompany his mom, but maybe she doesn’t want to look like she’s playing favorites among her children.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
