Princess Charlotte has made her royal debut on the Buckingham Palace balcony, rounding off the Trooping the Colour celebrations. Both are smiling, but only just.
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The Queen, wearing a lime green outfit visible from the far points of the crowded mall in front of the palace, travelled by horse-drawn vintage carriage, sometimes waving to the throng.
The Queen first witnessed the historic parade alongside her grandfather George V when she was eight years old.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge sit in a carriage during the Trooping the Colour marking the Queen’s 90th birthday at The Mall on Saturday.
Kate was resplendent in her Alexander McQueen coat, while Harry donned his Household Cavalry Number 1 ceremonial, with Forage Cap.
During the service Sir David Attenborough read Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond’s personal account of growing up to be 90.
Staged on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall – Henry VIII’s former jousting yard – Trooping the Colour is one of the great state and social occasions and will feature nearly 1,500 soldiers and officers on parade and 300 horses.
Veteran Scottish rocker Rod Stewart received a knighthood in Queen Elizabeth’s birthday honours list on Friday as a weekend of events was launched to mark the official 90th birthday of Britain’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch.
In May, two guards had to be carried from Horse Guards Parade on stretchers after reportedly fainting during rehearsals for Trooping the Colour. Calling Leibovitz a legend in her field would be an understatement.
Another soldier also collapsed during Trooping the Colour rehearsals last month, while guardsman have previously collapsed during the main events over the previous few years.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Prince Edward arrive for the Trooping the Colour ceremony in central London. The congregation heard another birthday present for the Queen, the anthem I Love All Beauteous Things, written to mark the monarch’s milestone by Judith Weir, Master of the Queen’s Music, who set to music a poem by Robert Bridges, poet laureate in the year the Queen was born.
After the service, the Queen hosted the Governors-General for lunch at Buckingham Palace. To great pageantry, she gets a royal salute, inspects the troops, watches as they march past her, gets another salute, then watches the King’s Troop march by. Please see our terms of service for more information.
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However, this service is only the latest birthday celebration for the queen – whose birthday was back on April 21.
