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Lt Col Charles Foinette will be leading the parade during today's Trooping the Colour.

The brigade major tells BBC Breakfast that regiments taking part in the procession have been left "sunburned" and "nearly drowned" during rehearsals as the weather seesawed over the past week.

But he says today's conditions are "as good as it gets".

Col Foinette explains that he will be focused on getting his timings exactly right during the ceremony and holding his strong-willed horse back.

"We get on quite well but one has to keep a little bit of an eye on what they're up to," he says.

Col Foinette also points out that the troops on parade are fighting soldiers and carry the rifles they fight with during the event.

"It is not unusual for soldiers to be crawling up a rainy ditch in South Wales and the next day having scrubbed the mud off their weapons, be on parade to change the guard. That is normal for us."

Tinshui Yeung
Live reporter, at The Mall

Hello from The Mall - I’m soaking up the sunshine here and I hope you’re out there enjoying this beautiful day, too.

It’s still over an hour until the event kicks off, but people are already gathering.

I’ve just spoken to Corrigan Gommenginger, one of the first to arrive. He told me he was here at 04:00 today. And yes, he’s come all the way from Seattle, Washington for the event.

"I love the royal family. They do a lot of great things for the country. They inspire people to do good things for humanity and for the world," he says.

No surprise at his enthusiasm - this isn’t his first royal rodeo. He got his crown back at the coronation a few years ago.

"I'm hoping to see the royal family and their carriages, and the horses, and the military today," he tells me.

Image source, BBC/Tinshui Yeung

Sarah Campbell
Royal correspondent, reporting from The Mall

The balcony is officially dressed, and vacuuming is under way.

Image source, BBC/Sarah Campbell

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Trooping the Colour will see more than 1,400 officers and soldiers march down The Mall in an event marking the official birthday of the King.

Here's what to expect from the coming hours:

• 10:30 BST: the parade begins from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards Parade in St James's Park
• The King will be greeted by a royal salute on Horse Guards Parade and a 41-gun salute fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery
• He then conducts an inspection of the troops
• The colour of the regiment is then "trooped" (carried) through the ranks of foot guards
• The foot guards will march past the King followed by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry
• The King leads his guards back to Buckingham Palace where a further salute takes place before the troops return to barracks
• 13:00 BST: the Red Arrows flypast will be watched by members of the Royal Family from the balcony at Buckingham Palace

BBC One begins its live coverage of Trooping the Colour at 10:30 BST - full details of how you can watch the parade are here.

You can also follow along in this live blog by clicking the watch live button at the top of this page when coverage begins on BBC One.

If you can’t see it live - you can catch up with highlights on BBC Two on Saturday evening at 19:05.

Last year’s ceremony highlights can be seen on BBC iPlayer.

The parade starts at 10:30 BST and will finish around 12:25.

Beginning at Buckingham Palace, the officers, soldiers and horses will progress along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade and back again.

Daniela Relph
Chief royal correspondent, reporting from The Mall

From a royal perspective, Trooping the Colour is quite the show.

It’s one of the few moments we see the Royal Family together on official duty.

With no jubilees, no big royal weddings nor any major national celebrations on the horizon, Trooping the Colour is a key moment for the royals this year.

Image source, Jeff Overs/BBC

Every June, there is a celebration of the reigning monarch’s official birthday - a dazzling parade called Trooping the Colour.

This year, the military spectacle takes place in central London on Saturday 13 June.

Trooping the Colour marks the official birthday of King Charles, not his personal birthday, which is actually on 14 November.

The title comes from the'Colours' - the name given to the flags representing the different regiments in the British Army.

The army used these flags so that soldiers could easily spot their unit when they were in the thick of battle.

Officers would march up and down in front of the troops (called ''trooping'') waving their flags (or ''colours'') so everyone could see which flags belonged to which regiment.

Each year at Trooping the Colour, a different regiment's colours are trooped.

The parade is steeped in history, and taking part is seen as a huge privilege.

Stay with us as we bring you live updates from today's festivities.