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By CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster and Rob Picheta in London

The role of Britain's monarch comes with quite a long list of perks -- but perhaps one of the most enviable is the ability to celebrate your birthday not once, but twice a year.

King Charles enjoyed his first real birthday as monarch on November 14. But this weekend he'll celebrate his big day all over again -- the first time he's enjoyed an "official" birthday since ascending to the throne.

Britain's Kings and Queens have doubled up on their festivities since the 18th century, holding both a public celebration -- the official birthday -- and a more private event on the real date.

And the reason is fairly simple: No-one wants the rain to ruin their parade, so ever since the 1740s, monarchs have scheduled their pomp-filled parties for the summer.

The tradition is believed to have started with the party-mad King George II in 1748.

 
That is the year that Britain's annual Trooping the Colour celebration was first associated with the sovereign's birthday. Like Charles III, George was born in November, when British weather is often far from ideal.

Trooping the Colour -- a military parade in London -- previously existed as a standalone event. It was officially and permanently re-purposed as a birthday celebration after George III became King in 1760.

Edward VII, who succeeded Queen Victoria and reigned through the first decade of the 20th century, is believed to have been the first monarch to receive the salute in person.

The annual tradition returns on Saturday morning, and like every year, it's expected to draw huge crowds to the Mall outside Buckingham Palace. And for his first trooping parade as sovereign, Charles will be making an appearance riding on horseback. 

Charles will join 1,500 parading soldiers, as well as 300 horses, taking part in the ceremony in his honor. The Household Cavalry and and the five regiments of foot guards -- Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards -- are involved. It's the first time a reigning monarch has joined the parade since Queen Elizabeth II in 1986. 

He'll be greeted at Horse Guards Parade with a royal salute, after which he'll inspect the Welsh Guards in their famous bearskin hats.  

Prince William, in his capacity as Colonel of the Welsh Guards, did a final review of preparations last Saturday to make sure everything was perfect for his father's first big parade. The rehearsal saw the regiment carry out intricate battlefield drill maneuvers to music. Kensington Palace has said this year's musical program will have "a distinctly Welsh theme," with new compositions from the band specially for the occasion. 

William praised troops after the practice session for "a really good job" in "difficult conditions," after several guardsmen fainted amid the sweltering summer temperatures in London.  

Queen Camilla will join her husband as they watch the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards troop their color. And after the performances, the King -- like his late mother before him -- will return to the palace and be joined by other royals on the balcony, to watch a flypast of the Royal Air Force.

It's a different schedule to his real November birthday -- though that wasn't short on festivities last year, either.

On his first birthday as King, Charles enjoyed a special rendition of "Happy Birthday" by the band of the Household Cavalry at Buckingham Palace. That performance was followed at midday by a 41-gun royal salute in nearby Green Park, and a 62-gun salute over at the Tower of London.

But while the real party -- and one of the most defining images of Britain's monarchy -- takes place on Saturday, the celebration is likely to feel poignant, marking the first Trooping for someone other than Queen Elizabeth II in seven decades. 

Sweet crayon drawings by a very young King Charles III will show a different side to Britain's royal family when they come up for auction this week. Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, depicted as never before, have emerged for sale as part of an "extraordinary" collection of royal memorabilia. It is thought that Charles drew the crayon and pencil pictures of his parents between 1953 and 1955, when he would have been about 5 or 6 years old. 

Done on lined paper, the sweet image of "Mummy" shows a smiling, blonde-haired Queen in a yellow and red striped evening gown, complete with a purple tiara, red drop earrings and her signature handbag. Charles' "Papa" appears a far less colorful character, though smiling nonetheless. Drawn in simple pencil, the picture shows him in a tuxedo and bow tie. Check out the royal art here. 

The Sussexes-Spotify podcast partnership has ended.  

Archewell Audio, the production company of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has announced the end of a multi-year partnership with Spotify in a joint statement released to CNN Friday. "Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together," the statement said. The Sussexes were among Spotify's most notable audio personalities, having announced an exclusive partnership with the service in December 2020. Read the full story. 

Prince William always has time for this homeless charity.

Combating homelessness remains a priority in the Prince of Wales' work this year. Prince William continued the theme with a visit to Reuben House in Peckham, south London, to help with its official opening. The facility is a new independent-living housing project from homelessness charity Centrepoint. The 40-year-old royal has longstanding ties to the organization, which he was first introduced to by his mother. While there on Tuesday, he met with project supporters and spent time with some of the residents. The goal of the project is to help young people move out of temporary lodgings and settle into more permanent accommodation. At Reuben House, tenants are charged a third of their salary in rent -- significantly lower than the private rental sector. Around 129,000 young people in the UK sought help from their local councils due to homelessness or risk of it during the 2021/22 financial year, according to Centrepoint.  

King Charles III took a very special trip to the North Yorkshire market town of Pickering on Monday. He arrived by Royal Train, which was pulled by the famous Flying Scotsman -- the first locomotive to reach 100 miles per hour (160.9 kilometers per hour). The visit was to celebrate the centenary of the famous engine and mark 50 years of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. 

"The murder of Anton Mzimba is a stark reminder of the daily dangers that all rangers face around the world, protecting the natural world from the international criminal organizations that seek to profit illegally from wildlife, and I'm proud to see his life and legacy recognized."

– Prince William

The Prince of Wales was joined by Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh for a movie screening on Tuesday evening. The pair viewed RHINO MAN, which explores how wildlife rangers are trained and the dangers they frequently face. Featured in the film is Anton Mzimba, a ranger who dedicated his life to conservation. In the documentary, Mzimba described his job as being a "call from God that you must save the wildlife." 

His murder at the hands of wildlife traffickers last summer sent shockwaves through the community and the documentary's ending was edited to cover his death and legacy. The event at Battersea Power Station was hosted by United for Wildlife (UfW), of which William is the president. Sophie accompanied William on one of their first joint engagements as she has a strong interest in wildlife protection and wanted to learn more about UfW's work.