The Trooping the Colour event, to mark the Queen's birthday, is one that royal fans look forward to every year – as it offers up the chance for them to not only get a glimpse of the Queen herself, but of her family too, up on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
This year's event was no different, despite feeling extra special thanks to all the Platinum Jubilee celebrations it's happening alongside, and despite it being a chance for all eyes to be on the monarch herself... this year, it was actually little Prince Louis who firmly stole the show.
After joining his siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, along with their mother, Kate Middleton, and step-grandmother, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, for a carriage ride (where Charlotte taught him how to wave), Louis took his place up on the balcony beside the Queen herself. While there, he waved along to the crowd, before some rather noisy military planes flew overhead – which evidently took the four-year-old by surprise.
See: this now utterly iconic photo of Prince Louis simply having had enough of the noise for details...
The youngest of the Cambridge siblings also showed off his cheeky side when he had a go at pulling faces at the crowd down below, which mum Kate was having none of and swiftly put an end to. LOL, we love to see it:
Eagle-eyed viewers will also have spotted that Louis' adorable sailor outfit is one that's been worn by a royal before – by his own father, Prince William, nonetheless. Some 37 years ago, the Duke of Cambridge wore the exact same get-up when appearing on the balcony during the 1985 Trooping the Colour event.
Everyone's clicking on...
This could well become a tradition that we see passed down in future should any of the Cambridge children go on to become parents themselves, as when Prince George made his balcony debut he also wore a pale blue lewk previously rocked by his father as a child.
Given that there's plenty more to come by way of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, we imagine we'll be seeing plenty more of George, Charlotte and Louis as the weekend continues. Hurrah!
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
