Princess Adeline, Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Fifty-Three: Trooping the Colour 2019

8th of June 2019 - Buckingham Palace

It had come as a bit of a surprise to Adeline when the Queen had requested that she be the one to accompany her in the Scottish State Coach now that Prince Philip had retired and would not be attending the event. 

The Parade was also attended by The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge, The Duke of Clarence, The Duke of York and The Princess Royal who rode out as Royal Colonels of various regiments. 

The Prince of Wales is a Royal Colonel of the Welsh Guards, The Duke of Cambridge - The Irish Guards, The Duke of York - The Grenadier Guards and The Princess Royal of The Blues and Royals. 

The Duke of Clarence was also the Royal Colonel of the Scots Guards having been appointed so in 2016 by the Queen. 

The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duchess of Cambridge, and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended and travelled along The Mall together in one of the carriages behind the state coach. 

It was the Duchess of Sussex's first appearance since the birth of Archie only a month earlier, since most of the crowd had thought that she would opt out of the public appearance after the birth. 

It also marked Adeline's return from maternity leave since the birth of the twins seven weeks earlier, although it was not her official return to duty since she planned to return in September. 

Behind them in the next carriages were The Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, were also in attendance. 

Adeline took a deep breath as the state coach made its way out of the gates of Buckingham Palace; her fingers playing with the anniversary gift that Simon had gifted her for their fifth anniversary. 

It still felt strange to think that they had been married five years now, it seemed to have flown by and Adeline knew that time stood still for no one; the eternity ring on her finger was a reminder that they were in this for the long haul. 

The crowds cheered as the procession made it's way down the Mall towards Horse Guards Parade; the weather was okay for the official celebration for the Queen's birth. 

The blue-green dress and hat complimented her figure and Adeline was surprised how quickly her body had slipped back into shape this time after birthing the twins when she had been so big during the last weeks of her pregnancy. 

Arriving at the parade ground, the national anthem played out as the carriage made it's way around the grounds in a lap to show off the members of the guards that were in attendance; the Queen's procession taking it's time as it made it's way around the grounds. 

Behind the carriage rode Charles, William, Simon, Andrew and Anne who stayed in formation as they followed after the carriage while the rest of the family watched the event from inside the Horse Guard Parade building. 

Once the laps were completed, the carriage pulled to a stop at the saluting base allowing the Queen and Adeline to climb out; the two of them standing upon the base before the demonstration took place. 

The Queen taking a seat to watch the parade with Adeline just beside her, the two of them silent as the ceremony took place with practiced precision. If there was one thing that the British did better than everyone else it was the pomp and ceremony that many travelled around the world to see. 

The hour long ceremony passing by quickly with so much to take in before they started to make their trip back to Buckingham Palace, with the Queen and Adeline returning to the state carriage. 

Trooping the Colour marked the end of a week which had seen the state visit from President Trump that had gone well as well as the 75th Anniversary of V-Day being celebrated by the royal family.