Princess Adeline, Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Eighty-Two: Platinum Trooping the Colour

2nd of June 2022 - Horse Guards Parade, London

The weather was beautiful for Trooping the Colour despite the rain that had happened over night, with everything carefully planned out for the weekend ahead. 

Today marked the anniversary of the Queen's coronation back in 1953, it also marked the start of the platinum jubilee weekend with the next four days packed out with celebrations. 

The parade would start at 10am with the colour being trooped by the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, and more than 1,200 officers and soldiers from the Household Division put on a display of military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade, together with hundreds of Army musicians and around 240 horses. 

Sadly the Queen would not be making the trip down to take the salute, her doctors advising against it as her mobility continued to decline and she wasn't sure that she would make it too many of this weekends celebrations. 

In the first carriage was seated the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge and the three Cambridge children while the Duchess of Clarence and her four children rode in the carriage behind.

They passed out of the gates of Buckingham Palace to the sound of the national anthem and to the cheers of the crowds as they made their way down the mall. 

The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery would fire the 82-gun salute in London's Hyde Park that could be heard back at Buckingham Palace as the crowds watched the parade take place. 

It was a first for the younger Clarence children, having been relegated to balcony appearances that they were allowed to attend such an event; Helena eagerly waving to the crowds as they made their way down the road. 

Albert was a little more shy, offering the slightest of waves as he chatted with Sebastian on the way; both of them talking about the people that had been lining the streets for days. 

Behind the carriages rode other royals, with William and Simon riding side by side as they made their way down the mall with Charles and Anne riding just ahead of the two of them. 

In a break from tradition, it would be Charles, William and Anne that would inspect the guards and take the salute on behalf of the Queen. 

The air in stark contrast to what had happened last year, everyone knew that something must be wrong if the Queen was unable to attend an event that she never missed. 

Trooping the Colour was to celebrate the official birthday of the monarch afterall, it was rather odd to not have her front and centre for such an event especially on her platinum jubilee weekend.

Once they reached the Horse Guards Parade, the national anthem struck up again and the carriages quickly made their way towards the building so that everyone could get inside before the parade started. 

Adeline made sure that the children stuck together as they headed inside, she smiled to Catherine who looked relieved to have her close as they made their entrance; the hall already filled with other members of the royal family. 

These members who had been brought by coach had been the first to arrive, it consisted on lower ranking members of the family as well as two that no one was looking forward to dealing with. 

Meghan stood by Harry taking in the arrival of Catherine and Adeline, she watched the two sisters-in-law as they greeted other members of the family but kept a distance from them. 

Her eyes drifted over to the younger Clarence children, the latest niece and nephew; they like their older siblings favoured the FitzClarence family rather than the royal blood in their veins.