The biggest cheers were reserved for the Princess of Wales and her three children, whose face-pulling antics have become as much a part of Trooping the Colour as the Red Arrows’ fly past. Kate, alongside Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, arrived in a carriage procession along the Mall that also carried the King, Queen and the royal colonels – William, Colonel of the Welsh Guards; Princess Anne, Colonel of the Blues and Royals; and Prince Edward, Colonel of the Scots Guards.
Prince Louis, standing with his parents and siblings on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, looked especially animated by the roaring RAF flypast overhead, a moment that echoed the family’s own behind-the-scenes footage. William and Kate posted slick clips to social media showing the royals preparing for the spectacle, mounting their horses and returning to feed them before the balcony appearance.
“Princess of Wales and children draw biggest cheers at Trooping the Colour as Andrew's bruise fades and Harry issues statement.”
But even as thousands cheered, a familiar shadow hovered. Hours before the parade, disgraced Andrew was spotted driving close to his home in Sandringham – his mystery bruise, which had dominated his right cheek a week earlier, now beginning to fade. The former Duke of York’s absence from the Palace balcony was stark.
When the Royal Family did appear, body language experts analysed a “divided” balcony scene. During the carriage procession, Princess Charlotte was seen teaching the King a lesson in royal protocol, a light moment that contrasted with the absence of Prince Harry, who issued a statement at the same moment the family stepped onto the balcony. The crowd erupted in cheers as the royals appeared, but the divisions – Andrew’s bruised exile, Harry’s distant message – hung in the air as loudly as the Red Arrows’ roar.