Prince Louis Steals the Spotlight on the Palace Balcony as Prince George’s Growth Spurt Turns Heads

He may have stayed composed during the carriage procession, but Prince Louis soon returned to his trademark mischievous form during today’s RAF flypast at Trooping the Colour.

The youngest of the Wales children, eight-year-old Louis is well known for his lively public appearances, and he once again stole attention as he reacted enthusiastically to the Red Arrows soaring above while standing on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Photos captured the young prince leaning sideways for a better view, his mouth open in amazement as he watched the aerial display during the annual celebration marking the monarch’s official birthday.

In another brief moment, Louis appeared to share a quick comment with his father, Prince William, before turning back to wave alongside his brother and sister at the crowds below.

Not every reaction was full of wonder, however, as the young royal was also seen wearing a distinctly unimpressed expression at one stage.

As royal watchers delighted in Louis’s latest balcony antics, many also pointed out how much his older brother, Prince George, has grown, with some noting he now appears nearly as tall as his parents.

The young royals joined their grandfather, the King, and their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as their sister Princess Charlotte, 11, for the occasion.

Alongside the Waleses was the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, 90, whose wife the Duchess of Kent died in September 2025, also made an appearance on the balcony for the Red Arrows flypast after missing the royal carriage procession.

Trooping the Colour was once an affair that saw the palace balcony brimming with at least 44 royals as more distant relatives were invited.

But over the last few years, only working royals – and the Waleses’ children – have attended the event in line with the King’s slimmed-down monarchy approach. 

Earlier in the day, the royals attended the monarch’s official birthday at Horse Guards Parade in London as throngs of fans flocked to The Mall to witness the stunning display of military pomp and pageantry. 

Kate, 44, putting on a typically elegant display in a Catherine Walker light blue and white coat dress and a matching Philip Treacy hat, was sat next to her youngest Louis, eight, when travelling in the royal carriage procession.

Charlotte, 11, and George, 12, looking smart in a suit and a tie that matched his mother’s ensemble, were placed opposite the pair in the open-top coach.

The King, meanwhile, wore his military uniform, with Queen Camilla wearing a red silk crepe Grenadier Guards uniform dress, designed by Fiona Clare, as the two travelled from Buckingham Palace to the parade grounds. 

It was a family affair for the Firm as the Prince of Wales rode on horseback while wearing the Full Ceremonial Order of the Welsh Guards. He was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal as they flashed a salute on their way to Buckingham Palace.

Highlighting the strong bond between Kate and her children, they were all dressed in complementary outfits – from George and Louis’s ties that were the exact shade of Kate’s dress to Charlotte’s printed cream dress with hints of blue.

Known for his cheeky antics, Louis flashed his gap-toothed smile at the crowds that eagerly held up their phones to try to snap a picture of the Royal Family during a spectacular display of military pomp and regalia.

The future heir to the throne, George, 12, was confident as he waved at well-wishers while seemingly joking and chatting with his younger sister, Charlotte. 

The occasion was once an affair that saw the balcony at Buckingham Palace brimming with at least 44 royals as it included more distant relatives. But over the last few years, only working royals – and the Waleses’ children – have attended the event. 

Today, guardsmen in their scarlet tunics and bearskin caps delivered a display of precision marching on Horse Guards Parade, honed over weeks of practice and part of their ceremonial duties when not fighting soldiers.

The national celebration is one of the highlights of the royal calendar and will later feature the Royal Family assembled on Buckingham Palace’s balcony for the traditional flypast of RAF aircraft.

The colour – regimental flag – trooped this year was the King’s Colour of the Grenadier Guards. 

Charles presented the new colour to the regiment during a ceremony in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on June 9. 

The Grenadier Guards were raised in 1656 in Bruges, Belgium, by the exiled King Charles II to protect him during the period Oliver Cromwell ruled England.

Charles, Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards, visited his King’s Company at their barracks in Aldershot on the eve of Trooping and wished them ‘great success’ for the big day.

He told the company: ‘Since Easter you’ve been practising rigidly and I can hear from Buckingham Palace the sound of the drums thumping away regularly so I know you’re all marching up and down trying to get ready for the parade.’ 

The King went on to say: ‘…ever since the last 370 years of your existence you have made us all in this country so incredibly proud of your effort, your service and your sacrifice over all those years and I feel very proud and privileged to be here.’

The King’s Birthday Parade this year comes exactly one week after the royals gathered in Kemble, Gloucestershire, for Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s ‘intimate’ wedding. 

Catherine looked the picture of poise as she arrived at All Saints Church in a Roland Mouret £750 dress and Jane Taylor hat, alongside her husband William, 43.

The future Queen was met with the sounds of cheers from crowds of well-wishers who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the royal guests.

Trooping the Colour is a military ceremony that dates back to the 18th century and is one of the most high-profile royal events of the year. 

It is rooted in battlefield custom, when regimental flags, or ‘colours,’ were trooped in front of soldiers to ensure they could be recognised amid the smoke of combat.

This year, the honour of trooping the Colour falls to the Grenadier Guards, the British Army’s most senior infantry regiment, which is celebrating its 370th anniversary.

This year marks the fourth Trooping the Colour of His Majesty’s reign, after the death of Queen Elizabeth on September 8, 2022. 

Charles attended his first Trooping the Colour in 1951, aged three, riding in a carriage with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and his aunt, Princess Margaret. 

The King first rode in the parade as Colonel of the Welsh Guards in 1975.

The Colours being trooped today were presented to The Regiment by The King in the Gardens of Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, June 9. 

Trooping the Colour was once the largest public gathering of royals of the year, with more than 40 members of the Firm jostling for position on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the flypast.

Now, the sparse group is made up of working royals only, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. 

They will be joined by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, now the oldest working royal at the age of 90, while the King’s estranged son, Montecito-based Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, will be notably absent. 

The daughters of disgraced former prince Andrew, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will not attend today’s Trooping the Colour, which they last attended in 2022. 

They were last seen on the palace balcony with the late Queen Elizabeth in 2019, after they arrived at the Horse Guards Parade riding in an open-top carriage accompanied by Eugenie’s husband, Jack Brooksbank, and Prince Edward. 

In the wake of the scandal surrounding Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson’s friendship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Beatrice and Eugenie – who is expecting her third child with Jack – have largely kept out of the spotlight. 

While they were welcomed back into the royal fold for Peter and Harriet’s wedding, Beatrice and Eugenie – who are not working members of The Firm – will not attend today’s festivities.