Why June 13 Could Be One of King Charles’ Most Emotional Days This Year
King Charles faces a bittersweet weekend as Trooping the Colour and the funeral of a beloved family friend fall on the same day.
It will be a bittersweet weekend for King Charles as he navigates a delicate balance between public celebration and private grief. On one hand, he will preside over the pageantry of Trooping the Colour; on the other, he will bid a final farewell to Lady Pamela Hicks. Because both events hold immense meaning for the monarch, he is expected to make an extraordinary effort to be present for both.
That balancing act became even clearer after details of Lady Pamela’s funeral were made public. According to HELLO! Magazine, a notice published in The Times revealed that she will be laid to rest on June 13, the very same day as Trooping the Colour. The service is set to begin at 3 PM at Brightwell Baldwin Church in Oxfordshire, roughly an hour's drive from London.
With Trooping the Colour expected to begin in the morning and wrap up with the traditional Buckingham Palace flypast around 1 PM, there is a good chance Charles could make it to the funeral afterward. This wouldn't be the first time the King has balanced multiple commitments in a single day; just last weekend, he attended his nephew Peter Phillips’s wedding before making an appearance at Derby Day only a few hours later.
On the other hand, Lady Pamela's connection to the royal family ran deep. She was the daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip's beloved uncle and mentor, and later served as a lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth. Over the years, she remained close to the royals, even choosing the then-Prince Charles to be the godfather of her youngest daughter, India Hicks.
India Hicks shared the news of her mother’s passing in a poignant social media post on June 5. Reflecting on Lady Pamela’s 97 years, she acknowledged that while grief is inevitable, her immediate focus was on gratitude for their time together. "My mother died peacefully today. Whilst there is no tragedy in the death of a 97-year-old who has lived a full life, I know grief will be unavoidable," she wrote, before adding that she was profoundly thankful to have had her as a mother.
Trooping the Colour is one of the biggest events in the royal calendar, bringing together senior members of the royal family for a day of military tradition and celebration. The annual parade by the British Army marks the monarch’s official birthday. It typically ends with the much-anticipated Buckingham Palace balcony appearance, where King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, are expected to make an appearance this year.
