I'm John Batsworth, Gregory Coppley of Defense and Foreign Affairs. I'm learning now. I'm not a colonial, but I'm a wannabe.

Trooping the color on horseback. This will be Sunday the 18th. The first time Gregory informs me, a monarch of the British Empire.

Leads the Trooping the color on horseback. What is it Gregory? What am I going to see? The king on horse? What else?

Well, it's actually a magnificent spectacle, as always, which is played out in honor of the king's official birthday in June every year.

The stage is in the summer to get the good weather. And this time it's going to see, for the first time in decades, all 17 of the household divisions units participating.

The household division is the division of troops, which includes the household cavalry, and includes the infantry of the foot soldiers, the chaps and the red tunics and the bearskin headgear.

So all 17 of those units are going to take place. So it'll be a massive number of troops.

The king will be taking the salute on horseback, as I say, the queen used to do that as well. But after 1986, her age dictated that she shouldn't do that anymore.

So she took it from a stand. So the king will be there on horseback. That's very important to show if you like the virility of the new reign.

And the Prince of Wales, Prince William, will be leading the troops because he's formally Colonel in chief of the Welsh guards now, Colonel, I think of the Coltrames, but he will be leading the parade.

And in the rehearsals, which have seen the video of Prince William really looks the parties on horseback, of course, leading this situation.

And you'll see some of the favourites. I mean, we'll see the continuity because this has been going on for, well, since King George II, essentially this troop in the colour.

And the objective is that the colours of the regiment, in other words, the flag of the regiment and of the guards, are grouped in front of, raided in front of the troops so that they will always know in battle their own flag and which flag to follow.

So that's part of the ceremony of it. And you'll see a lot of marching, obviously, but particularly you'll hear some fantastic, much music. And there's one which was a favourite of the Queen.

And it was the favourite, I think, of King George V and even Queen Victoria, the masked bands will be playing Les Eugernaux, which is a slow march taken from an opera about the Huguenots in France.

And it's a fabulous piece of music. And you'll see the masked bands in slow march doing this. It's worth watching. It gives you new evidence, I think.

We have 50 seconds, Gregor. Is this going to take place outside of Buckingham, is that where Buckingham is?

No, it takes place in Horsegarde's Parade, which is about a half a mile from Buckingham Palace, where the, where's a big parade ground at the end of Fist and James's Park.

Gregory Coppley, editor and publisher of Defense and Foreign Affairs, my guide on Colonials and the Commonwealth and the Trooping of the Colors. Sunday the 18th, I'm John Beck.

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