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Prince William arrived on horseback at this year’s Trooping the Colour celebration in honor of his father, King CharlesThe Prince of Wales’ appearance comes after he admitted the last year had been a difficult one for him after both the King and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with cancer“It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life,” he previously said
Prince William is putting on a brave display after a difficult year.
The royal, 42, appeared on horseback at this year’s Trooping the Color, the annual celebration honoring his father, King Charles, who turns 77 this November.
The Prince of Wales was one of three members of the royal family who rode on horseback during the London parade. He was joined by his aunt Princess Anne and his uncle Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Although King Charles also rode on horseback at Trooping the Colour in previous years, including his first as monarch in 2023, the King took part in this year’s event seated in a horse-drawn carriage alongside Queen Camilla. Charles also rode in a coach last year, just months after his cancer diagnosis and treatment, which is ongoing, were revealed. Queen Elizabeth switched from participating in the event on horseback to riding in a carriage in 1987 at age 60.
As the honorary Colonel of the Welsh Guards, William sported the red uniform with a leek symbol on the neckline paired with a traditional bearskin cap adorned with the regiment’s white and green plume.
Prince William rides on horseback in Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025.
John Phillips/Getty
The prince is attending the celebration with his wife, Kate Middleton, and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7. They took part in the parade by riding together in a horse-drawn carriage.
The Prince of Wales candidly opened up about the difficulties his family faced since last year’s Trooping the Colour in a November 2024 interview. Speaking on the last day of his four-day visit to Cape Town, South Africa, the royal said he’d been through a “brutal” year after both the King and Kate were diagnosed with cancer.
Prince William at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025.
Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace
“It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life,” Prince William said at the time.
Referring to the role he took on as Prince of Wales after the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 8, 2022, he added, “So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
Princess Charlotte and Kate Middleton at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025.
BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty
The prince said he was “proud” of his wife and his father “for handling the things that they have done,” adding, “But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
Princess Kate announced that she was in remission in January and began to resume royal duties after staying out of the public eye for much of 2024 while undergoing cancer treatment.
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Kate Middleton and her children at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025.
BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty
The King has continued to receive treatment, and a senior royal aide told PEOPLE in May that he was managing his diagnosis well.
“Medical science has made incredible advances, and I genuinely see no difference in him,” the aide said. “As long as you just do what the doctors say, just live your life as normal as possible. That’s exactly what he is doing.”