A HAWORTH business boss has spoken of his pride after the company's work was showcased at Trooping the Colour.

Wyedean Weaving produced the King's Colour and regimental flag of No 9 Company Irish Guards carried at the monarch's ceremonial birthday parade, watched by a worldwide TV audience.

Wyedean Weaving, a fourth-generation family business, was awarded the contract last year to manufacture the British armed forces’ new regimental flags ahead of King Charles III’s coronation.

And the seven-year, £5 million contract will see the firm replace all standards and Colours with the king’s insignia and Tudor crown.

Managing director, Robin Wright, says: "Military Colours and standards were introduced in the 1700s as battle flags to help soldiers determine where their regiment was on the battlefield. Today the flags are seen on a regiment’s most important occasions and we are truly honoured to use our expertise to hand make them using silks, silver and gold threads.

"It takes each of our three specialist embroiderers 40 weeks to produce one Colour, and our team takes great pride in making other military accoutrements – each one a piece of artwork, steeped in history.

"In this our 60th anniversary year, we were delighted that our very latest Colour took centre stage at the king’s birthday parade."

He adds: "Colours and standards are at the heart of Trooping the Colour as emblems of pride and history. Our artisans use only the finest materials to ensure that each stitch on each Colour reflects the glory expected at such historic events.

"We’re proud to know our work contributes to the beauty, precision and pageantry of this great British tradition.

"With hundreds of hours of intricate hand stitching and elaborate embroidery work involved, all our staff quite rightly felt extremely proud to see our creation featuring in His Majesty’s birthday parade. To contribute to Trooping the Colour is indeed an honour and a privilege."

Wyedean was founded, as a manufacturer of braid and military uniform accoutrement, by David Wright.

He ran the business with his father Frank, a former textile machine designer who was awarded an MBE in recognition of his invention of a new yarn spinning technique called centrifugal spinning.

The company has since widened its net to manage a global supply chain with customers including the British Ministry of Defence, the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian armed forces.