The King's official birthday celebrations culminated in a spectacular Red Arrows fly-past, with Prince Louis stealing the spotlight as he eagerly watched the aerial display.
Royal Celebrations at Horse Guards Parade
Charles's anniversary was marked by a display of military pomp and pageantry on Horse Guards Parade, showcasing the Army's ceremonial prowess before the royal family and thousands of spectators.
The Red Arrows carried out a flypast over Buckingham Palace, trailing red, white, and blue smoke, joined by Typhoon jets, Chinook helicopters, C-17 transport planes, and F35-B jets.
Prince Louis's Antics
All eyes were on Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, known for his playful behaviour at major royal events. He was spotted ducking down to look through a half-open window to catch a glimpse of Trooping the Colour.
The eight-year-old prince watched from a first-floor window of the Duke of Wellington's former office with siblings Prince George, 12, and Princess Charlotte, 11, along with other royals including the Duchess of Edinburgh and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
Louis caught the attention of spectators watching the Buckingham Palace flypast, and when the Red Arrows flew over, he turned and spoke to his parents, making William and Kate laugh.
Royal Attire and Tributes
Below in the parade ground, the King, Queen, and Kate stood on a royal dais. Kate wore a striking wide-brimmed blue and white Philip Treacy hat and matching Catherine Walker outfit. The royal women paid tribute to their regiments: Kate sported the brooch of the Irish Guards, of which she is Colonel, while Camilla, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, wore a red Fiona Clare dress and a black beret with white plume by Treacy, featuring her regimental cap badge.
Historic Ceremony
Trooping the Colour is a historic ceremony where regimental flags, used as rallying points in battle, were paraded in front of soldiers. This year, the colour trooped was the King's Colour of the Grenadier Guards, presented by the King earlier that week.
The event is both ceremonial and social, with stands around Horse Guards Parade filled with about 8,000 family members of the guards and officers on parade.
In summer sunshine, Charles inspected the troops from a carriage, passing over a thousand guardsmen from the Grenadier, Scots, Irish, and Coldstream Guards. He later saluted as the colours were marched past.
Balcony Appearance and Flypast
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Duke of Kent joined the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the traditional RAF flypast. The aerial display roared over the palace in 10 waves.
Louis was smartly dressed in a shirt, trousers, tie, and double-breasted jacket, occasionally pulling at his collar to loosen it.
Crowds gathered in The Mall, though the area directly in front of Buckingham Palace was kept free of spectators. Anti-monarchist group Republic staged a demonstration, opening umbrellas that spelled out "Stop The Reign."
