The Trooping the Colour ceremony is held every year to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday, but when Princess Diana made her debut in 1981, things took a turn for the worse

Diana, Princess of Wales’ debut appearance at the Trooping the Colour ceremony, held in honour of the Queen’s birthday, sadly took a disastrous turn in 1981, when she was just 19 years old.

This grand occasion takes place annually on the second weekend of June to commemorate the monarch’s official birthday, regardless of when their actual birthday is. In King Charles’ case, he was born on 14 November., 1948.

Traditionally, the Trooping the Colour event sees members of the Royal Family gather on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to marvel at an impressive RAF fly-past, following a parade that trails from the Palace down The Mall to Horse Guard’s Parade.

While it usually goes without a hitch, the late Princess Diana’s first time participating in 1981 was unfortunately marred by an unexpected incident.

Lady Diana Spencer is seen riding in a carriage with Prince Andrew at the Trooping of the Colour in 1981 (Image: Getty Images)

Diana, just 19 at the time, rode in a carriage with Prince Andrew, while her soon-to-be husband, Prince Charles, took part on horseback. She donned a specially-made blue floral suit created by Bill Pashley for the occasion, reports the Mirror.

The ceremony took place only a month before Lady Diana Spencer, as she was known then, tied the knot with the then Prince Charles in a lavish ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral. Her inclusion in the event broke Royal protocol which typically follows a “no ring, no bring” rule, but it quickly became clear there were bigger problems at hand that day.

The day took a terrifying twist when, during the ceremony, 17 year old Marcus Simon Sarjeant fired six pistol blanks at Queen Elizabeth II as she was riding along The Mall, causing distress to her horse, Burmese.

Despite the dangerous incident, the then 55 year old monarch remained unflappable and continued her horse ride.

The parade proceeded as scheduled, and afterwards, the Queen made her way back to Buckingham Palace along the same route, under vigilant security surveillance.

The teenager was apprehended and reportedly confessed to his captors: “I wanted to be famous. I wanted to be a somebody.”

Lady Diana Spencer stood alongside the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace Balcony (Image: Getty)

He faced charges under the Treason Act of 1842 and received a five-year prison sentence.

Despite the unsettling event, the ceremony went on without further interruption, and Diana was seen with other Royal Family members observing the fly-past from Buckingham Palace’s balcony.

However, with Charles and Diana’s nuptials just around the corner, there was heightened concern for security at St Paul’s Cathedral in case of another incident. Fortunately, the wedding day passed without any security breaches.

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