London:

King Charles III will participate in his annual birthday parade next month from a carriage rather than on horseback, as he battles cancer, British media reported Thursday.

The 75-year-old head of state, who only recently resumed public engagements, will inspect the soldiers taking part in the June 15 Trooping the Colour ceremony from a royal carriage.

The yearly event marks the sovereign’s official birthday and is one of the highlights of the royal calendar.

Last year Charles attended his inaugural parade as king on horseback, the first time the monarch had ridden at it since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1986.

The change for this year’s ceremony follows the announcement in February that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.

The king has been receiving treatment and last month royal officials said doctors were “very encouraged” by his progress, allowing him to resume his official duties.

He has been increasingly visible in recent weeks, maintaining a busy public schedule that included attending the Chelsea Flower Show last week.

Next week he will make his first overseas trip since the cancer diagnosis at an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, 76, and elder son Prince William, 41, the senior royals will be at a commemorative service at the British Normandy Memorial in northern France on June 6.

One notable absentee from those commemorations and potentially the other royal events next month will be William’s wife Catherine, 42.

She is receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and was last seen at a public engagement in December last year.

The Press Association said it was unclear if Kate, as she is widely known, would attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Sky News reported Thursday that the Princess of Wales would not return to public duties for the Colonel’s Review, another ceremonial military event held the weekend before.

As colonel in chief of the Irish Guards, Kate would usually take a salute at the event.

The British Army initially said in March that she would participate, but swiftly removed the reference to the princess for the review from its website.

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London:

Britain’s King Charles has significantly increased his charity patronages by nearly 300 this weekend to mark the first anniversary of his Coronation since May last year, taking over several that Buckingham Palace said were supported by his mother late Queen Elizabeth II.

The palace said a major review of more than 1,000 royal patronages and charity presidencies was undertaken following the 75-year-old monarch’s accession to the throne in September 2022 after the death of his mother.

Other working members of the royal family, including wife Camilla and son and heir Prince William, will also take on the patronage of a number of organisations previously supported by the late Queen to add to their existing portfolios.

“The King and Queen [Camilla] will continue to serve as patron to many of the charities and institutions with which His Majesty was affiliated as Prince of Wales, and respectively Her Majesty as Duchess of Cornwall,” a Buckingham Palace statement said on Saturday.

“In addition, Their Majesties are pleased to continue the patronage of a great variety of charities and organisations previously supported by Queen Elizabeth II…Royal patronage highlights the vital work of these organisations and allows their many achievements and valuable contributions to society to be more widely recognised and promoted,” it said.

Among the charity patronages King Charles has inherited from his mother, there are a number of Commonwealth institutions including the Association of Commonwealth Universities, which champions the power of higher education to improve lives, and the Royal Commonwealth Society, which is committed to improving the lives and prospects of Commonwealth citizens globally.

“With his long record of support for the Commonwealth and as a champion of the environment, he embodies the values to which the Royal Commonwealth Society aspires, and which inspires our work to make a practical difference in the lives of the 2.6 billion people who make up the Commonwealth family,” said Dr Linda Yueh, Executive Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

The King retains patronages from his time as heir to the throne which highlight causes such as supporting communities, conservation and culture, including the Wildlife Trusts, a grassroots nature organisation; Youth United Foundation, which brings uniformed youth organisations together so they can learn from each other, share best practice and collectively support more young people; and the Heritage Crafts Association, a national charity preserving traditional heritage crafts.

Queen Elizabeth II was patron of 492 organisations at the time of her death, of which 376 are due to be retained by King Charles and other members of the royal family. Over 441 organisations were affiliated with Charles from his time as the Prince of Wales, of which 367 have been retained by members of the royal family.

The palace said that a further review will be carried out to consider the royal patronages held throughout 14 other Commonwealth Realms, where King Charles is Head of Stat

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)