LONDON — With his face half-hidden under a bearskin hat, Prince William rode through central London on horseback Saturday as part of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday celebration.
The newlywed prince was taking part in the annual “Trooping the Colour,” a procession held every year to mark the monarch’s birthday.
His new bride, Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, rode in a horse-drawn carriage alongside William’s younger brother, Prince Harry; Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall; and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.
The queen turned 85 in April, but the public party for the monarch’s birthday is held on a Saturday in June when the weather is better. William wore the same red Irish Guards tunic with a blue sash that he wore at his April 29 wedding at Westminster Abbey.
Earlier on, the queen awarded a set of honors on actors, sportsmen, academics, civil servants and members of the public who are judged to have made an exceptional contribution to society.
British actor Colin Firth, who won an Oscar for portraying the queen’s father, King George VI, in “The King’s Speech,” was named a Commander of the British Empire, or CBE, in the Birthday Honors List.
Britain’s honors are bestowed twice a year by the monarch — at New Year’s and on her official birthday in June — but recipients are selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the public.
This year, 965 people will receive awards. Bank of England Gov. Mervyn King will receive an enhanced knighthood — a Knight Grand Cross. Robert Edwards, who won a Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work on in-vitro fertilization, will also receive a knighthood.
