CNN.com - Transcripts (2024)

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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to all our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the Princess of Wales is set to return to the public stage this morning for the first time since revealing her cancer diagnosis. We'll have live coverage from Buckingham Palace.

A summit in Switzerland with hopes to kickstart a peace process in Ukraine. But with at least two major players missing, we'll look at what to expect.

And a heat dome is moving out of the southeastern U.S. We'll find out where it's headed next.

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COREN: In a little less than an hour, Trooping the Colour events will get underway in London. For more than 200 years, it's been the official birthday celebration of the British monarch, the highlight of the ceremonial calendar.

This year's festivities come as King Charles battles cancer. Catherine, Princess of Wales, is also fighting the disease but she's expected to participate in Trooping the Colour events in her first public appearance since late last year.

She also released a statement that read, in part, "I am making good progress but as anyone going through chemotherapy knows, there are good days and bad days. On those bad days, you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting.

"But on the good days when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well."

CNN correspondent Anna Stewart joins us now from outside Buckingham Palace.

And what can we expect in the coming hour? ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you can expect pomp, pageantry, hundreds of soldiers and, of course, key members of the royal family and royal fans will be absolutely thrilled that this year it will include the Princess of Wales.

It's the first time we'll be seeing her in public for a couple of months or maybe a little bit more, actually, at this stage, since the statement in March that she was receiving treatment for cancer.

Now today is all about the king's birthday. This is the official celebration of the king's birthday known as the king's birthday parade. And it involves this big ceremony called Trooping the Colour.

Well, one of the Foot Guard regiments of the household division troops their colour, which is essentially sharing their flag. This year, it is the Irish Guards. And that is key really, because the colonel's regiment is the Princess of Wales.

So there'll be extra pleased I think that their colonel will be there in presence. And we expect to see her in a carriage. So first glimpse of the Princess of Wales and the three children, Princes George, Louis and Princess Charlotte expected in around half an hour, leaving Buckingham Palace and heading toward Horse Guards for this parade.

COREN: And tell us what has been the reaction from the British public, because of course, this was a surprise announcement.

STEWART: Yes, I think there's -- I think it's a very joyful surprise.

I'll be honest, there was a lot of concern that they wouldn't get to see her this year. But also there's been so much empathy, I think, from the public, ever since that shock announcement in March, where we had the video message from the Princess of Wales. And I think it's really notable in the statement we had yesterday. While we still don't know the exact cancer that the princess is being treated for, we have a concept of how she's been feeling, dealing with this on an emotional level.

So a much more personal relationship really between the royal family and the public. And they will be thrilled to see her today. But under no impression that they'll be seeing the princess lots in the coming months. They're going to see her in terms of public engagements on a case-by-case basis, whether the princess is up to doing it.

She's going to get advice, I believe, from her medical team for each event. But people will be thrilled to see her both in the carriage and later on the balcony behind me. You can see the drapes are already there. We expect to see key members of the royal family, including the princess waving to the public.

So it'll be a lovely event. Hopefully, the weather cheers off. It has already started to rain.

COREN: But Anna, it wouldn't be British without rain. Come one. It's OK. All will be well in the world. Anna Stewart in London, we'll speak to you very soon. We're watching closely and we'll bring you live coverage once the

royal family, including King Charles, start leaving Buckingham Palace. That's coming up a little later in the hour.

Returning to other news, the U.S. president is leaving the G7 summit behind as he heads to a glitzy fundraiser with Hollywood celebrities in Los Angeles.

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Joe Biden was part of a unified effort to support Ukraine at the summit now in its third and final day in Italy. World leaders have reached a loan agreement for Kyiv using profits from frozen Russian investments.

On Thursday, Biden and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security deal on the sidelines. Mr. Biden will be skipping the Ukraine peace conference beginning today in Switzerland, sending Vice President Kamala Harris to meet with Zelenskyy in his place.

But he won't be the only leader missing at the event. Russian president Vladimir Putin was not invited. And China says there's no point in sending any delegation if Moscow is not represented. Well, let's go now live to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson in Monopoli, Italy.

We'll get to the peace conference. But firstly, final day of the G7. It seems to have been a rather productive meeting.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It was very productive and perhaps it was organized that way. Obviously, there's an effort to get a communique that is strong. That brings everyone's positions together. And broadly speaking, that happened.

But why do I say it was constructed that way?

You brought in two kind of really big figures. President Zelenskyy on the Thursday, the first day, when there was a lot about what's being done for Ukraine in terms of that unique and never done before using frozen Russian assets to fund a loan, to give to Ukraine before there could be a change of presidency in the United States.

Where you could potentially have an incoming president if it were Donald Trump, potentially try to reverse that kind of support for Ukraine. So there was that and there were additional sanctions on Russia announced by the United States.

A bilateral security pact between Ukraine and the United States and between Ukraine and Japan. That was on the Thursday.

The Friday, I think the big star of the event there was the pope, who really brings his charisma, his, clout, if you will, on the world stage, to have people listen to him. So when he speaks about AI, it elevates that from being a sort of a dry, technocrat technological discussion that's hard to sort of understand where it's going. When the pope comes out, as he did, and says, it can be good. It's a

tool. But it can be bad as well. He said you could make an automated weapon that can select a target by itself using AI, line up on that target by itself, decide to pull the trigger and shoot that target.

He said there should never be a world where machines can kill humans. So he really elevated that discussion on AI to a place in the conversation that it might not have otherwise occupied.

And then there was, of course, discussion about China, discussion about China's trade practices. This is something where the United States really wants a unified position patient with the other G7 leaders.

And there was a strong, there was a strong alignment on that and calling out China and its sort of over overproduction and the effect that has on global trade. And there was as well discussion about trying to support sub-Saharan Africa development there, putting more money in and supporting countries there that are affected by climate change.

So a lot of complex -- we're going to hear in the next couple of hours from Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, kind of wrapping it all up, giving a final press conference.

Probably one takeout that she will have felt, that got perhaps more exposure than she would have wanted, she didn't want the word abortion in the final communique. And we've heard through the G7 that both President Biden and President Macron did want that language in.

It was the same language that was used in the Hiroshima G7 declaration, just over a year ago. They did manage to word the final communique without putting the word abortion in there but talking about the importance of female productive rights.

So that was the only place where we sort of saw any element of friction.

COREN: Nic, most of the G7 leaders, they will then head to Switzerland for this peace summit.

But what will be achieved, considering the notable omissions?

ROBERTSON: Again, I think, you know, the world here is looking at this in a number of ways.

Earlier on this year, there were delays in getting U.S. funding, getting European long-term funding commitments to Ukraine. And it really looked as if Russia was taking advantage of that.

Ukraine was on the back foot and Ukraine, in a way, sort of needed to ready itself for a peace process that perhaps wasn't going to end on the terms it wants, where it vanquishes Russia and pushes it entirely out of Ukrainian territory because it wasn't getting the support that it needed.

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It doesn't look that way at the moment. The G7 reaffirmed that unity. In the face of Russian continued aggression inside of Ukraine, the aim of this peace summit will be framed in a way, I think, that tries to ringfence a type of peace that Ukraine can hope to achieve.

Even if going forward with a change in presidency in the United States with a more isolationist president, if it's Donald Trump, who doesn't want to support Ukraine militarily.

Economically, doesn't want to support NATO, that there will be a basis agreed for the terms of peace; 57 different leaders, different states will be at the peace summit in Lucerne, Switzerland; 30 different ministers from other countries will be there.

And we're trying to get an agreement that says Ukraine should have peace on the terms of the U.N. Charter, which protects its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

That's the position they want to get to, that big, broad signup for that. And that kind of gives Ukraine something that it can fall back on in the future if some countries decide to support it less than they are now.

COREN: Nic Robertson, always good to see you. Many thanks.

Well, as we mentioned, a few minutes ago, President Biden is attending a fundraiser today in Los Angeles. Donald Trump is on the campaign trail as well. He celebrated turning 78 on Friday in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he attacked Joe Biden without mentioning the current president's age.

Biden is just three years older and whoever wins will be the oldest president ever sworn in. Later today, Trump travels to the battleground state of Michigan, where he is scheduled to speak at the conservative turning point action conference.

A heat dome over the southern U.S. is scorching the region with insufferable temperatures. Over the next few days, it will be in the 80s and 90s in much of the Eastern and Central U.S.

In some places pushing triple digits. The heat dome is forecast to move into the Northeast and Great Lakes regions. A large portion of the Ohio Valley will be under extreme heat risk on Wednesday.

More than 135 high temperature records could be tied or broken in the days ahead. And flooding continues to threaten Florida, even though rainfall is not expected to be as intense as it was earlier this week. The forecast calls for one to two inches of additional rainfall through the weekend, which could spell more trouble.

The ground is fully saturated, so it won't take much to cause more flooding.

When we return, a heartbreaking look at the toll two conflicts are having on children in Gaza, where many children who've been badly injured are forced to wait to be evacuated for better care.

And in Afghanistan, UNICEF marks 1,000 days since girls above the sixth grade were banned from school. I'll be speaking with a UNICEF official on the toll the ban is taking on the country and how the world should respond.

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COREN: Well, this just into us from Gaza right now. New Israeli airstrikes that Gaza officials say have killed 14 people, including seven children. This is video of the aftermath. Gaza's civil defense says dozens more were injured in the strikes.

Rescue crews are still working to pull survivors from the rubble. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Israel said a short time ago that it launched airstrikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. Rockets were launched from Lebanon into Israel.

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COREN (voice-over): Dozens of rockets were fired into Israel and the Golan Heights from Lebanon on Thursday. Many were intercepted in the air but it's all adding to concerns over the risk of a wider war in the Middle East.

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COREN: Meanwhile, Israel is facing growing criticism for how it's treating Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian legislative council in Gaza says they are being starved and tortured, prompting calls for inspections of Israeli detention centers.

Some prisoners released this week appeared frail and thin after several months behind bars. One of them says many prisoners are in poor health and suffering from skin diseases.

CNN has reached out to Israel's military and prison authorities for a response to these allegations.

Well, meanwhile, there's new evidence of the toll the war is taking on innocent children in Gaza.

CNN's Paula Hanco*cks joins us live from Tel Aviv with more.

And Paula, the number of dead children, the number of injured children in Gaza is staggering.

PAULA HANco*ckS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anna, misery does continue to flourish in Gaza. We see and not least for some of those who have been injured in the

war and also some of those who have diseases -- cancer patients, those needing dialysis -- because they cannot get out of Gaza at this point for treatment.

Now we know the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been shut for about 5.5 weeks. We spoke to the World Health Organization, who said that at least 10,000 patients in Gaza desperately need to be moved out.

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HANco*ckS (voice-over): Hanan Aqel had gone out to buy some sweets when the airstrike hit. "I miss seeing mama," she says. "I

miss my mama and my sisters."

9-year-old Hanan has not been able to open her eyes since the strike 10 days ago. Doctors say she has 20 percent burns on her face, hands, chest and leg.

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One of thousands of patients trapped inside Gaza without hope of the treatment they need. Her mother says, "She tells me I want to play.

What have I done to deserve this?" She can't sleep properly because of the pain. Her whole body hurts.

Surrounded by war for eight months, this was Hanan just hours before she was hit. They had been forced to leave their home in Rafah when the Israeli

military moved in and were sheltering in someone's garden in Al-Breej.

Hanan says, "My sister went to her grandfather and asked for one shackle for her and one for me. I went to the shop and was about to pay the man and

a missile fell. I didn't hear the whizzing, I just saw a red light."

Hanan's doctor says she was in critical condition when she arrived.

They removed shrapnel from her face and reconstructed her nose. He says they now have no choice but to wait to transfer her out of Gaza, hoping her

wounds don't get infected. "Most children need medical transfers," he says, "for a more qualified treatment than here. We don't have the treatment, the

tools, we don't have the supplies."

The Rafah crossing has been closed since May 7th when the Israeli military took control. Egypt says it will not open the crossing until the Israeli military withdraws for security reasons. One Egyptian soldier was killed last month in a fighting along the border. Israel says they will not hand

over control of the crossing to Palestinian authorities, fearing Hamas would use the area to smuggle in weapons.

DR. RIK PEEPERKORN: The Rafah crossing should be reopened as quickly as possible or there should be an alternative. We have no estimation at the

moment how many of the patients, which should have left, actually have already passed away.

HANco*ckS (voice-over): Khloud Al-Sharqi says she was displaced three times while pregnant. Her baby, Malak, born four days earlier, has a heart

defect, spending most of her young life in an incubator. "The doctors did what was necessary," she says, "but they said that she must be transferred

out of Gaza quickly." She adds, "One of the doctors told me not to have high hopes. That sentence is so difficult to hear."

Malak is not the only baby desperately needing medical treatment outside of Gaza. Her doctor confirms if these children do not get treatment, they are

likely to die. Ali Darwish has a broken spine, ribs and leg after an airstrike hit his house, killing his siblings, his aunt says. Without

urgent specialized treatment outside of Gaza, she has been told by doctors he may be paralyzed. For these children, escaping Gaza may be their only

hope for the future.

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HANco*ckS: Now they are distressing images but images that the parents wanted the world to see, to show what is going on, with Israel and Egypt both blaming each other for the Rafah crossing still being shut.

Time is literally running out for some of the more critical patients in Gaza -- Anna.

COREN: There's a heartbreaking story. I'm so pleased that you were there, bringing these stories to the world.

Paula Hanco*cks there in Tel Aviv, thank you.

Well, a sad and sobering milestone in Afghanistan. On Thursday, UNICEF marked the 1000th day since the Taliban regime banned Afghan girls from attending secondary schools, a move that came after the militant group retook control of the country back in August 2021. The ban makes Afghanistan the only country in the world that prohibits

girls from attending school beyond the primary level. UNICEF says it's a blatant violation of rights that has contributed to the deteriorating mental health of Afghan girls.

Well, joining me now from Kabul is Daniel Timme. He's the chief of communications of UNICEF Afghanistan.

Daniel, thank you for joining us. Quantifying the hours is one thing.

But what does this mean for the girls in Afghanistan and the impact on the development of the country as a whole?

DANIEL TIMME, CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS, UNICEF AFGHANISTAN: Yes, 1 billion hours is indeed a very devastating number of lost lessons.

But I can tell you, I'm traveling a lot in this country. And I meet families who are affected by this ban and depressing to see the sad and depressed girls. For them, it's a very important phase in their life.

It's the time where they make plans, where they have projects, where they are eager to acquire skills to reach these goals and where they want to learn and are enthusiastic about learning. And suddenly they are told they have to stay at home. And now this is going on for 1,000 days. They see their lives pass in front of their eyes.

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Opportunities are closing. And for us it's not very surprising that we see the number of mental health issues going up among girls. And also reports of suicide, for example. Our data shows very clearly that there's a correlation between not going to school and being married off early.

Or not going to school and malnutrition and health problems and also not being properly prepared for the frequently occurring disasters here in this country. What is very sad is that we know that --

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COREN: Yes, Daniel --

TIMME: Yes?

COREN: I just wanted to jump in there and just say, from CNN's very own reporting, we've seen a spike in cases of suicide, attempted suicide, among these female students.

I mean, this ban on education, which has been in place since August of 2021, it is destroying a generation of girls.

TIMME: Yes. That's right. It's not only a grave violation of their basic rights but it's also destroying the future. We've seen it has an impact on many other aspects, lives, but obviously, if you leave out half of the population from getting a proper education, it is also having a very severe impact on the development of the country as a whole.

And we are urging the authorities here, please reconsider this position and allow all girls and boys to return to class immediately.

COREN: Daniel, how does the West deal with the Taliban?

Because, of course, the concern is the West provides assistance to this poverty stricken country. It engages in dialogue. And then you legitimize this regime and its policies.

We know that there is this upcoming U.S. conference in Doha at the end of the month. Afghanistan is on the agenda. And human rights groups are deeply concerned that the U.N. is bending over backwards to get the Taliban to attend by giving into its demands that women's rights, girls' rights will not be on the agenda.

What message would that send if that was allowed?

TIMME: No, for us as humanitarians and in UNICEF, the answer to that question is very clear.

We have committed to certain core commitments for children, to protect them, to protect their safety and their rights wherever they are. And the humanitarian imperative is that we have to save lives whenever they are at risk.

And I can tell you, we have talked about education. This is not, unfortunately, the only problem that children have in Afghanistan. I'm here for only nine months. And during this time, there were three earthquakes. There was a refugee returning crisis.

There was drought, there was harsh winter and most recently flash floods. I just returned from the north of the country, where whole villages have been destroyed. People have died. So lives are at risk here.

And it's our obligation to assist the people and to not run away. We will be here and we are urging our international partners to please stay by our side and to save lives, not the time for politics. This is the time for saving the lives of children.

COREN: Yes, there is just so much pain and suffering inside Afghanistan and these girls are living it on a daily basis. Daniel Timme, we thank you and your team for what you are doing in Afghanistan. Thanks so much for joining us.

We're covering Britain's royal family and the king's official birthday parade. We will bring you like pictures of their carriages leaving Buckingham Palace just after the break.

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COREN: We are hopefully minutes away from seeing Catherine, Princess of Wales in public for the first time in nearly six months. She made the surprise announcement on Friday, releasing a photo taken at Windsor along with the message about her ongoing treatment for cancer.

The princess says she's making progress but isn't out of the woods yet. She is set to attend the Trooping the Colour, the official celebration for the monarch's birthday. King Charles said he's quote, "delighted" she will be attending the royal events.

We're joined once again by CNN correspondent Anna Stewart outside London's Buckingham Palace.

And obviously this is the king's birthday parade. But all eyes will be on the Princess of Wales.

STEWART: All eyes on the Princess of Wales. And I have surprise news, Anna, because I told you we wouldn't get a glimpse of the Princess of Wales or any of the members of the royal family until they left Buckingham Palace in about 5-10 minutes.

But I have news and I think we probably have cuts of video up there. We did see the Princess of Wales arriving a short time ago, wearing what looks like a white dress perhaps with a bit of black trim and a bow. I think she's wearing the hat badge of the Irish Guards, of which she is the colonel.

So she was in the car with Princess -- sorry, long day -- Prince William, Prince of Wales, also in military uniform.

So they are now gathering at the palace and you're looking at light pitches now of some of the foot soldiers of the regiments of the household division. You can see some military bands.

This is Horse Guards parade. This is where Trooping the Colour will be taking place within the next hour. And this is an ancient ceremony, where one of the regiments in the household division gets to show that flag, which is the way that they would recognize that in battle.

It feels somewhat outdated now but it is a very fun ceremony to watch and it's also an opportunity for the king to inspect his many, many, many troops.

So we will be seeing the royal family leaving Buckingham Palace ahead to where you're seeing right now, down the mall. The weather as ever has been somewhat inclement. This is actually not the king's actual birthday. He was not born on this day but this is the official birthday.

And in the U.K., the monarch always celebrates their birthday officially on the second Saturday of June, due to the fact that birthdays generally in the U.K. are plagued by rain. But June isn't as sunny as perhaps one might like. You're seeing some soldiers in formation, getting ready.

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And the regiment that is being trooped today is the Irish Guards, which is particularly relevant, I suppose, because the Princess of Wales is the colonel of that regiment. So the fact that she's able to be there today, taking part, she'll be in the carriage.

We hope to see the hit on the balcony once the whole ceremony is wrapped up, waving to the public. And it'll be the first time that we've really seen her in public now for some months since that diagnosis of cancer, since we heard that video message from her back in March.

So all eyes on Buckingham Palace there. You can see the royal standard is up. I think we may have seen the king and queen actually arriving a short time ago. Quite hard to spot them in the cars. But we should soon get live pictures of what's going on.

And they'll be leaving the palace, escorted by hundreds of members of the household cavalry, the life guards and the Blues and Royals. We will see some of the members of the royal family, probably on horseback.

I'd expect to see the Prince of Wales, for instance, on a horse, like he was last year, given he is the colonel of the Welsh Guards. The Princess Royal is also a colonel of the Blues and Royals. The Duke of Edinburgh is a colonel of the Scots Guards.

So all in a military uniform. We will have some on horseback, some in carriages. And hopefully leaving shortly, because we're pretty much down to the wire now. So let's see if they're on time, Anna.

COREN: I've just been told by our producer Susan that we have some pictures of Princess Catherine in the car.

Hopefully, we'll be able to show our audience to them. There she is. As you rightly pointed out, she is wearing white, black trim. She's wearing a hat. Looks like the kids are in the car with her. I'm not sure who else is there.

Is Prince William there?

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It looks like Prince William --

STEWART: -- beginning to pull faces. Yes.

Well, they have arrived, of course, they actually --

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STEWART: -- and they have arrived together. I liked that we're seeing Prince Louis, an hello glimpse of one of our favorite characters, particularly for balcony scenes. He's never short of pulling --

(CROSSTALK) STEWART: It looks like he might have started early today. But it's a great spot and it's nice to see them --

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STEWART: But also of course, everyone always wants to know what the royals are wearing.

So I hope to have much more information for you shortly.

COREN: Yes, we want to know the designers, absolutely.

Who is she wearing?

But on a more serious note, let's talk about the close relationship between Princess Kate and King Charles.

I mean, they're both dealing with cancer, this perhaps playing into the fact that she is there today, that she's put on a brave face.

I mean, this is not a formal return to duties but she obviously wants to make an attendance.

STEWART: And it's just so special that, if she was going to make a return to work, that she does so for this particular occasion because it is the king's birthday parade. And this is a really big date in the calendar for the royal family.

It's really the moment where you see them come together as a unit, all together the on that balcony and the king has said that he's absolutely delighted to hear that the Princess of Wales will be here today.

And I think in terms of the relationship between the two of them, you have to remember that the difference between last year and this year is huge. Both of them are being treated for cancer. And I'm sure that has deepened a bond that they really have already had.

This is a much slimmer monarchy than we're used to. The number of senior members and working members of the royal family are far fewer than they have been in years gone by.

They're a tight-knit family. So to have them all together today is very important. Also important, I think, for the Princess of Wales that she's here because it is the Irish Guards who are the big focus of Trooping the Colour today. And that's the sort of military angle, the ceremonial angle of what we'll be going on to celebrate the king's birthday.

She is their colonel; she was made colonel last year. She took that role from her husband. So for her regiment to be taking the turn this year, it's such a joy for her, I imagine, but also for the army that she can be there because she had to miss the panel's review, which was sort of a big fancy dress rehearsal last week.

So I'm sure they'll all be thrilled that she's there and able to share that balcony. That's the moment really for the public that we like to see. If you've think through years past, when you look at Trooping the Colour, you look at this moment really in history.

You can compare the balcony shots and you can really see how the history of the royal family develops. You had over 40 people on that balcony, I think, in 2016 for the queen's birthday parade. It is pared back so much. Of course in years gone past, we've had Prince Harry and Meghan, the duch*ess of Sussex, on that balcony.

We don't see them anymore. So you can kind of see the evolution of the royal family as each year goes past.

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It's great that she will be there with her children today.

COREN: Absolutely and obviously her attendance, it came as a bit of a surprise. Caught everyone by surprise when she made that announcement on Friday. She issued a message and she was quite open in that message.

She said, "I'm not out of the woods yet. I'm making good progress but there are good days and bad days."

She also issued that photo of her standing under that magnificent, huge tree. You have to say that she looks well. And certainly from the image that we saw of her in the car, she looks -- she does look well. It is promising that she is making good progress with her -- with her chemotherapy.

STEWART: It's promising and it's interesting what you say about the statement that was made yesterday by Princess of Wales because it also highlights another huge difference that were seeing with The royal family in recent years, with the king and with the Princess of Wales.

But it's sharing much more really about their health than we have had in the past. We don't know exactly which cancers both of them are being treated for. But we have a much better insight I think into how they're feeling.

The Princess of Wales saying that not every day is a good day but sometimes she has to let her body rest. But when she has a good day, she really wants me to go and do the school run and do things that any normal mother, wife would want to do in their daily lives.

And so she is going to start to work from home a little bit. But that is one of the huge differences we have with this royal family from families in the past. And I think there's a difference really in the relationship that the public now have with the royal family.

In March, the statement that was made by the princess to explain to everyone why she was taking so much time away from public duty, that really came as there was just a huge outcry really to know what was going on. And there was huge speculation there.

So it's a really difficult balance to maintain, giving the public as much information as you can but without infringing on the privacy of the members of the royal family and remembering that they are actually a family.

You go -- they're often called the Firm because they are many ways a business. But they're also very real people with very real problems, unfortunately.

COREN: Exactly. Yes, now we are looking at live pictures of Buckingham Palace.

We are waiting for that carriage to be carrying the family, including the Princess of Wales and her children, followed by the king, King Charles, about 10 minutes later. We are expecting Prince William to ride on horseback.

But I wanted to talk a bit about the British reaction, the public's reaction to this news. It looks like there is a carriage approaching.

How have people received the news that the Princess of Wales will be there today?

STEWART: We are just looking at some -- oh, I can see some horses beginning to leave the gates of Buckingham Palace.

So it looks like that royal procession is going to start. I think we've got one carriage just about to leave now, perhaps possibly a second behind it.

Now, I believe that the first and second carriages that you're seeing are likely to be including the duch*ess of Edinburgh with her children, Lady Reese Mountbatten Windsor and the Duke of Kent.

And the second one probably has the Duke and duch*ess of Gloucester and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. I'll see them leaving in what is known as the barouche, which is a type of carriage. You're going to see lots of different kinds of carriages today and they will be leaving first.

Now following this, I would expect to see members of the royal family possibly leaving on horse. So we're likely to see, for instance, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh. They will all be in military uniform because they are colonels of some of the regiments of the household division. So we'll be waiting to see them next.

And I can see passing now, I think that must be the duch*ess of Edinburgh wearing yellow. We'll have to get a closer look. But today is all about the relationship really between the king and the military, particularly the household division.

You're going to see soldiers on horses. They are the household cavalry. There are two regiments. You're also looking at soldiers who are lining the whole route of the mall. They are wearing bearskin hats. Those are the footsoldiers. There are five different regiments.

And the royal family -- seeing that the royal family are all colonels, each have a different regiment, which is why they all wear a slightly different uniform. So we'll be waiting to see what can see from them.

Now we can see the Royals, household division. Wee see the cavalry coming. The King's Troop (INAUDIBLE) artillery. Everyone all on horseback.

[05:45:00]

And of course, the very last carriage we're likely to see today will be the state coach that will hold the king and the queen. So we are looking at live pictures of the royal procession, the very beginning of Trooping the Colour, which is how the king's birthday parade is celebrated each year.

They will be traveling from Buckingham Palace. They will be heading down the mall to Horse Guards parade. We will see royal family members, all resplendent, many in military uniform. And, of course, that first glimpse for people of the Princess of Wales with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

But it's a lot of excitement for this event. This every year is possibly one of the highlights in the royal calendar. You get the pomp, you get the pageantry.

Just listen to the sound of all of those horses, hundreds of horses trained for this event, trained of course not to get spooked by the many crowds that are lining the way. Plenty of fans here, Anna. You can hear lots of cheering.

I would say there are some protesters as well, lining the mall. So the king may find as passes that there are some shouts of "Not my king" as well as chants of "God save the king."

But that is part and parcel of any public event like this.

COREN: Of course, of course. You're speaking of the British public.

I was just going to say, Anna, you were speaking about the British public, their excitement to the return of the Princess of Wales. But I -- the British tabloids, I just want to speak about that before we -- before we move on.

They were relentless with it, the speculation and rumors when she really disappeared from the public sphere early this year. Then obviously came her announcement in March that she was fighting cancer.

She asked for privacy and it would seem that over the past few months, everyone has respected that.

STEWART: Yes, I think it did it take on fortunately, that video statement really, for the public to stop questioning and coming up with some really, truly terrible conspiracy.

There was particularly on social media as to where the Princess of Wales was. And that was unfortunate.

And required, I think, a very strong, stern message from the palace. Since then, there has been a respect for the privacy or the Princess of Wales, particularly from the media, particularly from the tabloid press and that has continued.

I think the interesting message that we have had from the palace really regarding how much we'll see of the Princess of Wales and that is that will see her when she's able, when she's feeling well enough to make public appearances.

And they will I think we might be seeing the Scottish state coach at this stage. I do believe we're seeing the king and queen at this stage. And I think the queen, I believe she is wearing a mint green dress.

I know that you wanted to know some stylists, Anna. She's wearing pale green silk white (ph) dress --

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: -- Anna Valentine and a hat by Philip Treacy, harder to see the King.

I believe he will be wearing a tunic of the Guard of Honor Order, the Irish Guard. And now I think you can see the Princess of Wales passing now and all three children in the carriage as well.

She's splendid, wearing a white dress --

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: -- she's wearing the ---

COREN: I was just going to say, Anna, we need these cameras, these pool cameras, to be zooming in so that we can get a better look at the royal family. But you can hear from the crowds certainly that people are excited to be seeing, yes, the Princess of Wales. I believe I can make her out in that carriage.

STEWART: You can make her out and, actually, I just given a little wave because --

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: -- at this stage, Anna.

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: Yes. It's definitely the Princess of Wales in a white dress with all three children in the glass state coach, just passing, starting to go down the mall right now. So that was the last coach, which means all the members of the royal family are well on their way

I've also incidentally just seen my cousin, Major Tom Stewart, who happens to be one of those horses escorting the carriage down the mall, a fine --

(CROSSTALK) STEWART: -- who is on a horse (INAUDIBLE)

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: -- a veteran of these events. But this has been a wonderful start --

(CROSSTALK)

COREN: No wonder you have the inside scoop, Anna.

STEWART: I've got the inside scoop, particularly on horses and military uniforms, Anna. So all questions, I'm ready for them.

[05:50:00]

COREN: You are, you are. You have done a splendid job, absolutely carrying this coverage.

So what happens from here, when is the balcony scene?

How much longer do we need to wait for that?

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: You are going to have to wait a little bit.

I love that everyone always just wants to get from this moment pretty much the balcony scene, which were expecting in I'd say couple of hours, roughly.

But first of all, it is the king's birthday parade and this is not it.

It is all about Trooping the Colour, which is a military ceremony.

It will take place in Horse Guards parade, not far away at all. There's houses, they'll be arriving there shortly. And this is where one of the foot guard regiments of the household division, there were five of them.

Each year one of them will take turn to troop the colour, which is essentially showing off their flag, which was relevant, particularly in the past. I suppose though, that soldiers from every regiment would recognize the colors of their regiments. They wouldn't get lost.

Now of course, it feels somewhat irrelevant in terms of the significance there but it's a really important event for the troops to see the king and for him to inspect all of his troops in the household division.

Now this year it is the Irish Guards. Now the Irish Guards are a particularly relevant regiment due to the fact that Princess of Wales is their colonel. And Anna, they have a live mascot. You will be seeing an Irish wolfhound by name of Seamus at some stage during the ceremony. COREN: Oh, how fantastic. Well, Anna, thank you so much for keeping us

abreast of what is happening there outside Buckingham Palace and down the mall. We're going to give you a break and regroup.

But that was Anna Stewart, joining us live from London.

Well, Trooping the Colour is the official celebration of the British monarch's birthday. No matter what day the king or queen is actually born, a state ceremonial parade is held on a Saturday in June to mark the occasion.

The tradition was first observed back in 1748 and it is a spectacle of pageantry, military precision and horsemanship. For the second time, King Charles will ever see the parade as sovereign although this year, because he is battling cancer, he'll ride in a carriage with the queen as we just saw, rather than on horseback.

The parade goes from Buckingham Palace along the mall to Horse Guards parade and back. It features 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians. It concludes with a grand finale with members of the royal family appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Up above, the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows performed a flypast with colors of the British flag trailing over the festivities.

Well, let's get perspective now from CNN royal historian Kate Williams. She is also there outside of Buckingham Palace in London.

Kate, describe the scene to us.

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anna, what a fantastic scene. It's such a wonderful occasion. It's raining here. You can't dampen the spirits of the crowds. They are -- what a -- what a big cheer went up when first Kate and the children came out in the carriage and then the king and queen were out in the carriage as well.

It was just a wonderful moment. This is -- this Trooping the Colour, it happens every year but such a significant Trooping the Colour this year. It's only the second Trooping the Colour for the king since he was crowned king, King Charles III. And it is the first one in which we are seeing Kate.

We haven't seen her since Christmas. That was the last public engagement was Christmas Day. We haven't seen her due to her cancer treatment and here she is, out, looking marvelous.

She really was looking radiant in a white outfit with some black. And what I think was the -- as I was saying earlier, the brooch of the Irish Guards because she is their colonel and she -- and with the children in the carriage, this is such a fantastic historic occasion.

Goes back to Charles II; it was started in the Charles II's restoration, king in the 1660s and then became part of the king's birthday celebrations for George III. So it's all about history. It's all about the military. And it's all about a really joyful royal occasion. I just love it. COREN: This is obviously King Charles' birthday parade. He actually

turned 75 at the end of last year. But June, I believe, is meant to -- when the sun is out, the sun is shining. Clearly, it's not, it's raining. But it wouldn't be British without rain.

But all eyes as we know, are very much on the Princess of Wales.

WILLIAMS: It is the king's birthday parade. We do have this strange setup in the British monarchy, by which the monarch has two birthdays. So the minute you become the monarch, you get two birthdays, your usual birthday and then this June birthday.

The idea is that the weather is better at this point. That's when we can have the Trooping of the Colour.

[05:55:00]

William, of course, does have a summer birthday. So perhaps when he has a birthday, it's going to be one birthday. Who knows. But the king's birthday is in November. This is a formal celebration. It's our big state ceremonial apart from the state opening of Parliament. It's such a big occasion. We see it every year.

The crowds out there, they are so excited. They've got the Union Jacks on. They've been camping out overnight. I've been out there chatting to them. They've got all the pageantry.

And above all, they are excited to see the princess. We were just thrilled when we heard last night she was going to be attending because, when you're going through what she's going through, she was talking in her very moving statement about good days and bad days.

This is a very exhausting occasion, it's tiring. Everyone's watching you. It's really tough. So she's got a huge amount of courage to go out there under the public eye and really be part of this huge royal occasion. And I know she's done it because she wants to support the king and his birthday parade.

And also because she is colonel in chief of the Irish Guards, they are being trooped today. She takes her duties as -- military duties, her royal duties, very seriously. And she was very upset not to be able to come to the rehearsal. She wrote a letter, saying she was sad not to be able to come.

And I think it means so much to her that she's out there today. She's mustering all her strength. She's out there today and it really does show a lot of courage and people are thrilled to see her.

COREN: As we were talking last hour, we know that the Princess of Wales and King Charles, they share a very close relationship.

Obviously both battling cancer. And the fact that she turned out today, obviously, we know, means a great deal to the king.

But Kate Williams, lovely to get your perspective there in Buckingham Palace. For our audience, please stay with CNN. That wraps up this hour of CNN

NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren. Thank you for your company. "CNN THIS MORNING" is coming up.