A distinguished group of senior working members of the Royal Family gathered on the Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour today, while some notable figures were absent from their usual spot to witness the RAF flypast.
King Charles stood prominently at the forefront, accompanied by Queen Camilla. Also present were Prince William, Princess Kate, and their three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis. Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Gloucester, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke of Kent also graced the balcony.
On the contrary, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were missing from the balcony, as they are non-working royals. The sisters have been entangled in a recent controversy regarding their rental of apartments in royal London residences, as highlighted in a report by the National Audit Office.
Zara and Mike Tindall, along with the children of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, James, the Earl of Wessex, and Lady Louise Windsor, were also not in attendance. Lady Louise Windsor last joined the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour in 2024.
Notably absent from the Trooping celebrations were Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle. Andrew, who was stripped of his titles last year and faced legal issues in February, has not participated in Trooping the Colour since 2019, which also marked the last appearance of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before stepping back from their royal duties.
In previous years, the late Queen Elizabeth often invited the entire Royal Family to join her on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the RAF flypast. However, for the grand return of the Trooping the Colour event in 2022, coinciding with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Queen chose to invite only working members of the royal family to the balcony. Consequently, Harry, Meghan, and Andrew were excluded from the royal lineup.
Buckingham Palace stated that the decision to include only royals engaged in official public duties was made after thorough consideration by the monarch. Despite this, one non-working royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Princess Anne’s husband, was given an exception due to his frequent presence at her royal engagements.
