The RAF’s acrobatic Red Arrows planes are set to put on a major display to mark King Charles III’s Trooping the Colour today.
It will accompany a parade that will be going through central London to mark the King’s ‘second birthday’ with other members of the royal family expected to be taking part in the celebrations, including Kate Middleton.
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Those heading out to watch the proceedings and hoping to catch a glimpse of the incredible feat are lucky, as the planes will fly directly over central London this weekend.
Here’s everything you need to know about the times and route of the flypast.
What time is the Red Arrows flypast and what is the route?
Around 12.30pm in Lincolnshire’s RAF Waddington, the planes will take off and head towards East Anglia, before turning towards Ipswich and Colchester.
From there, they turn towards Essex and fly over Chelmsford and then they finally reach London, where crowds will see them fly over Hackney, Shoreditch and the City before reaching Westminster.
For those hoping to see the planes, we’ve compiled a map of the direct route they will take.
Those in Heathrow will get to see them go over around 1.09pm, before they reach Winsdor.
It is expeected to reach Buckingham palace by 1:05pm.
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Red Arrows Trooping the Colour flypast timings
- 12:28pm RAF Waddington
- 12:30pm West of Martin
- 12:32pm South of Great Hale
- 12:39pm Oversea
- 12:44pm Oversea
- 12:49pm Oversea
- 12:51pm Oversea
- 12:55pm Woodbridge Airfield
- 12:58pm Vicinity Of Colchester
- 1:03pm South West of Kelvedon Hatch
- 1:04pm Fairlop
- 1:05pm Stratford Velodrome
- 1:06pm Buckingham Palace
- 1:07pm Belgravia
- 1:08pm Brentford End
- 1:09pm Heathrow
- 1:10pm Windsor Castle
- 1:14pm Halton Camp
- 1:20pm South Of East Haddon
- 1:25pm Vicinity Of Oakham
- 1:26pm Cottesmore Airfield
- 1:27pm West Of Burton-Le-Coggles
- 1:29pm North Of Belvoir
- 1:32pm South East Of Bassingham
- 1:33pm Lincoln
- 1:34pm RAF Waddington
Trooping the Colour is a centuries-old tradition involving King Charles III and members of the Royal Family.
Royal fans have descended on The Mall in Central London to watch the time-honoured ceremony and hopefully catch a glimpse of His Majesty on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
The annual celebratory summertime event has taken place since 1758, when thousands headed to the capital to partake in King George II’s official birthday celebrations.
Is the flypast for Trooping the Colour happening?
When grey skies began to gather this morning, doubts over whether the flypast would happen rose. The thunder and rain certainly didn’t renew any hope.
The Royal Air Force previously said that the display would be ‘subject to weather’.
But with the skies beginning to clear, the Red Arrows confirmed on its X account that the jets had been brought out.
Flight monitoring websites show the aircraft have taken flight, with some locals already spotting them soaring over their rooftops.
What aircraft will be taking part?
The flypast will consist of 34 aircraft, including rotary assets from Joint Aviation Command, training aircraft from No.22 Group, in addition to No.1 Group aircraft from the Air Mobility, ISTAR and Combat Air Forces, prior to the iconic Red Arrows.
Leading the formation will be Chinook helicopters from No. 7 Squadron of RAF Odiham, followed by three Typhoons from 29 Squadron, RAF Coningsby.
‘It is always a privilege to be part of His Majesty the King’s birthday celebrations, where the flypast is an opportunity for us to honour His Majesty the King, our Commander-in-Chief, on this special occasion,’ said Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin, Air Officer Commanding 1 Group.
The dazzling display comes will come just after the Red Arrows commemorated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings during World War Two.
The jets flew from Bournemouth for a 25-minute loop over the south coast and the Isle of Wight, with the flypast happening above Portsmouth Southsea Common at 12.31pm.
It was part of major events which took place to mark the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, when over 150,000 troops landing in France in a huge push to defeat Nazi forces and end World War One.
On June 6 1944, the forces launched a huge attack from land, air and sea. It was the largest invasion ever assembled, and was the start of operations by Allied forces including Britain and America which would officially end the war a year later.
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