Great honor for the wife of King Charles III. (74): Queen Camilla (75) has christened a horse that will lead the mounted cavalry in the monarch's birthday parade on Saturday (June 17). At a small ceremony in the gardens of Clarence House in London, Camilla presented the horse with a collar named Juno before feeding it a carrot. Also unveiled was a portrait of the 10-year-old Shire mare by artist Mandy Shepherd, commissioned by the royal family to honor Juno's role.
Juno, previously known as Willa Rose, will officially end her two-year apprenticeship with the Life Guards Regiment when she leads the mounted parade at Saturday's Trooping the Color ceremony, Mail Online reports. She will be part of the Royal Procession which will include 1400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians as well as members of the Royal Family who will ride on horseback and in carriages from Buckingham Palace across the Mall to Horse Guard's Parade.
By participating in the parade, the animal is officially given the title of Drum Horse, the Army's senior horse. These horses have the rank of major and are traditionally given names from classical mythology.
At the naming ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Armitage, commander of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, introduced Juno to the Queen. The horse was festively decorated and carried a silver kettledrum on either side. In order to be ready for the parade, Juno had to prove that she could be ridden with reins operated through the stirrups while carrying an adult in full ceremonial uniform as well as the two instruments. She also has to deal with the noise of the crowd and show that she can safely handle the other three drum horses - Perseus, Atlas and Apollo.
Camilla first met Juno on a visit to Dyfed Shire Horses in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 2018, when she voted owner and horse breeder Huw Murphy one of her "rural heroes" while serving as guest editor for the July 2022 issue of "Country Life" worked.
Juno is the third Dyfed Shire horse to join the Household Cavalry, following Mercury in 2010 and her sire Apollo in 2019.
