The Red Arrows will be out in their glory this weekend (Picture: Getty/metro.co.uk)
King Charles will be celebrating his first Trooping the Colour as monarch this weekend – Saturday, June 17.
Trooping the Colour – also known as The King’s Birthday Parade – is a royal tradition that dates back centuries and marks the monarch’s official birthday in June.
While it is not King Charles’ actual birthday – that falls on November 14 – the annual event gives the nation a chance to partake in celebrations in the (hopefully) glorious summer sunshine, with the event dating back to 1758.
Parades by the Horses Guard and a gun salute will be taking place to commemorate the day, with the King expected to attend and inspect the soldiers of the Household Division.
But the celebrations are not just limited to the streets of London, as a number of aircraft – including the Red Arrows – will be taking to the skies in a fly[ast, especially for the occasion.
But what is the route of the flypast, and when can people expect to see planes in the sky?
What is the route of the Trooping The Colour flypast?
The Military Air Shows has revealed the air restrictions map which demonstrates the expected official route of the Red Arrows and the display team of fellow aircraft.
Map shows Red Arrows fly past route for Trooping the Colour – click to enlarge (Picture: metro.co.uk
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the aircraft will take off from 15 locations up and down the UK before meeting in the south-east of England and flying across London.
There are proposed restrictions over the North Sea, East Anglia, Essex and London with the flypast happening over Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Which areas of the UK will the Red Arrows fly over?
The route is expected to cover the following areas:
RAF Waddington
Methringham
Skegness
Over the North Sea
Caister on Sea
Over the North Sea
Woodbridge Airfield
Colchester
Fairlop
Leyton
Buckingham Palace
Heathrow
Windsor
Reading
Hook
Winchester
What time is the flypast expected to take place?
The flypast is expected to take place at 1pm, with the Red Arrows and display team set to be flying over Buckingham Palace at around 1.06pm.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to take to the balcony of Buckingham Palace to view the flypast as it makes its way up The Mall, as they did during the Coronation.
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The flypast during the Coronation back in May was hindered by bad weather, leading to a reduced display with just helicopters and the Red Arrows involved, despite plans for a much larger fleet.
However, the Trooping of the Colour flypast is expected to feature the same aircraft which were meant to be involved on May 6.
Which aircraft are expected to take part?
The event will feature a mix of aircraft, ranging from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight dating back to the 1940s and the C-130 Hercules on its final ceremonial flight to multiple Typhoon fighter jets and the Envoy IV CC1, which is making its flypast debut.
The Red Arrows took part in a slimmed down display during the coronation (Picture: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
At the front of the flypast will be a Juno HT1 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Tom Knapp from 60 Squadron, No 1 Flying Training School based at RAF Shawbury.
the event will end with the iconic Red Arrows, with jets of red, white and blue from the pilots of the Red Arrows.
The MoD said many of the aircraft taking part in the flypast have been involved in operations around the world this year, including the Nato air policing mission in Eastern Europe and the evacuation of British citizens from Sudan.
Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin, has said about the event: ‘It is a great honour to be part of his majesty the King’s birthday celebrations, where the flypast is an opportunity for us to showcase formation, precision and excellence in the air to our Commander-in-Chief on such a special occasion.’
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