PRESS RELEASE : Coronation flypast rearranged for the King’s Birthday Parade [June 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 15 June 2023.
Aircraft from across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force will take part in a spectacular flypast for the King’s Birthday Parade, marking the first Birthday Flypast for His Majesty King Charles III.
Around 70 aircraft will take to the skies above the crowds on The Mall and over Buckingham Palace watched by Their Majesties the King and Queen, alongside other members of the royal family.
The aircraft will take off from 15 different locations across the UK before joining up across the south-east of England and flying across the capital.
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said:
We are very proud to be able to showcase our capabilities to our Commander-in-Chief, on this historic occasion for His Majesty the King.
We have planned a fitting and appropriate tribute for our monarch, that should be a true spectacle for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
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 before retiring from service, to multiple Typhoon fighter jet aircraft and the Envoy IV CC1, making its flypast debut.
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 culminate in a spectacular show of red, white and blue from the pilots of the RAF Red Arrows.
A similar sized flypast was planned for the King’s Coronation in May but was scaled down due to poor weather conditions. Therefore, this Birthday Flypast has been increased in size to pay tribute to the new monarch.
Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin said:
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.
The aircraft of the Armed Forces have a long and proud history of taking part in this occasion, with the first King’s Birthday Flypast taking place in 1913; and, most recently, formed part of Their Majesties’ Coronation in May and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee last year.
Many of the aircraft taking part in the flypast have been actively 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.
The King’s Birthday Flypast follows Trooping the Colour which takes place on Horse Guards Parade in the morning. The ceremony dates back to the reign of King Charles II, and became an annual event in 1760. This year, the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards will troop their colour in the presence of His Majesty the King.
