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Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Queen Camilla wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after attending the King’s Birthday Parade, ‘Trooping the Colour’, in London

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WhileTrooping the Colourwas planned down to the very last detail, one aspect of the special day came as a surprise to the man at the center of the celebrations.

On Saturday during the spectacular flypast over Buckingham Palace,King Charleswatched as18 typhoon jets filled the skyabove London to spell out “CR,” in commemoration of initials — “C” standing for his first name and “R” representing Rex (Latin for King, traditionally used for the monarch dating back to the 12th century).

Footage from King Charles' first official birthday parade as monarch showed the royal staring up at the sky in awe alongside his wife Queen Camilla, 75, sonPrince William, who turns 41 on Wednesday, and daughter-in-law PrincessKate Middleton, 41, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

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Members of the public watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) from The Mall, as part of the King’s Birthday Parade, ‘Trooping the Colour’, in London

Queen Camilla and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh smiled and clapped as the planes passed overhead.

The typhoons remained in position during the flight, as the King could be seen whispering to his heir to his right shortly after, with a big smile on his face.

During the display, onlookers in London raised their phones in the air to get a perfect shot of the “CR” as well as the other elements of the aerial show.

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Prince George, the Princess of Wales, Prince Louis, the Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Edinburgh on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, to view the flypast following the Trooping the Colour ceremony

Saturday’s festivities have marked the British monarch’sofficial birthdayfor over 260 years. And this year, the guest of honor saddled up on a horse named Noble for his ceremonial role as Colonel in Chief of the seven regiments of the Household Division of the British Army,a first for a British monarch in 37 years.

King Charles first attended Trooping the Colour at age 3 when it celebrated his grandfather, King George VI, but Saturday was the first to celebrate his own birthday — which isn’t actually until November — but is performed in June for practical reasons: better weather!

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Prince George of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past of aircraft by the Royal Air Force during Trooping the Colour

Around 1,500 soldiers, 300 horses and 400 musicians came together for the first Trooping the Colour put on in King Charles’ honor.

The event featured appearances from several royals and loved ones of Charles, including three of his grandchildren —Prince George,Princess CharlotteandPrince Louis.

Princess Anne, her husbandVice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence,Prince EdwardandSophie, Duchess of Edinburghall also appeared on the balcony together at the palace.

source: people.com