Prince William, Prince Charles & Anne arrived at Trooping on horseback

Here are more photos from Trooping the Colour. This is actually kind of special, a weekday Trooping. Most years, they schedule the Trooping parade for the weekend, but because this is a special Platinum Jubbly, we get a Thursday Trooping. For decades of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, she was on horseback for the procession, alongside the men. At some point, it just became too dangerous. So nowadays, the only people on horseback for Trooping are Prince William, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Anne will ride her horse until the wheels fall off! You can barely even distinguish Charles and William with those bearskin hats though.

The Queen and the Duke of Kent were the first ones on the balcony, for the “review” or troop inspection or whatever. I’m not going to learn what every step of this process is called. The Queen wore a pale blue coat and her Guards brooch. You can hear the collective sigh of relief from all of the palace aides that they managed to get to this fakakta Jubbly with a still-living Queen. There wasn’t even an excess of drama about getting her to Buckingham Palace from Windsor Castle, which makes me think they’ve at least got the elevator/wheelchair situation sorted behind-the-scenes.

Anyway, Jubblyshambles has commenced.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.

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71 Responses to “Prince William, Prince Charles & Anne arrived at Trooping on horseback”

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  1. k says:

    Is that the oldest living man in Britain or something?

    • BayTampaBay says:

      The Duke of Kent is the oldest living male blood British Royal.

      • TeamAwesome says:

        I have always liked the Duchess of Kent because she worked as a primary school music teacher for over a decade without her students knowing she was a Duchess. I bet SHE could teach Keen something useful about Airly Yarrrs.

      • Feeshalori says:

        I like them both. They’ve both presented the Wimbledon championships and have always taken the time to speak to the ball boys and girls.

    • Mich says:

      Lol!

    • Rice says:

      HAHAHAHAHA!!! He is struggling under the weight of all those “medals”.

  2. Ariel says:

    Isn’t the duke of Kent the Russian asset/agent?
    So biracial duchess- banned.
    Russian asset- welcomed.

    Yeah, sounds about right for the royal family’s version of white supremacy.

    • Becks1 says:

      No, that’s his brother, Prince Michael of Kent.

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      The Russian agent is prince Michael of Kent, the one with the Blackamoor brooch wife.

      • Over it says:

        Never mind my question below, Becks 1 answered it , thanks Becks1

      • Elizabeth says:

        Ah – thanks @Zapp. I was trying to remember if it was this guy or the other with the atrociously openly racist wife. I mean – pick a card, right? But the brooch thing is what I ID the Kents with.

    • Gubbinal says:

      I remember when Prince Michael of Kent married the brooch-wearer. Heavy–very heavy–gossip at the time since her father was a known Nazi. I heard at the time that certain members of the Royal Family called her “Our Val,” short for “Our Valkyrie”.

      I think that the guy with the Queen, the Duke of Kent, has been a trooper all these decades and his wife has been the epitome of what a Duchess should be–independent, charitable, talented. “Miss Kent, the piano teacher”.

      Also I believe that she was the first royal who “came out” as deeply depressed and spoke about it publicly, along with the traumas of her miscarriage(s).

    • windyriver says:

      It’s easy to remember if you look at a picture of him – Michael of Kent looks like tsar Nicholas. Pretty fitting, as it turns out.

  3. Over it says:

    Oh I don’t know Kaiser.I can tell it’s William from the indentation of his clench jaw. Also who is the duke of Kent to the queen? Is he her cousin?

    • BayTampaBay says:

      The Duke of Kent’s father (Prince George-fifth child of George V and also a Duke of Kent) and QEII’s father (George VI-second child of George V) were (are???) brothers

      • Louisa says:

        George V had 2 kids called George??

      • Cairidh says:

        The queens father was called Albert, the family called him Bertie. But when he became King he took the name King George as Charles is planning to. Both have George as one of their middle names.

  4. Kaye says:

    Good grief. Is it awful to say that for a split second I thought they had taxidermied Prince Philip and stood him up there?

    • BayTampaBay says:

      The Duke of Kent and Prince Philip are first cousins once removed. The Duke of Kent’s grandfather (Prince Nicholas of Greece) and Philips father (Prince Andrew of Greece) were/are brothers. The Duke of Kent’s mother (Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark) and Prince Philip were/are first cousins.

      • Zapp Brannigan says:

        Do, dah, do, dah, do 🪕 (in case readers cannot make out the emoji, it is a banjo)

      • Kalana says:

        When Eleanor married Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt (Eleanor’s uncle) said something approvingly about keeping the name in the family.

    • SAS says:

      Kaye!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

  5. girl_ninja says:

    William HAS to show up all decked out in princely uniform costume. He looks like a fool.

    • Princessk says:

      William was the most nervous horseman, Anne obviously was the most confident.

      • Truthiness says:

        Anne looks so natural on a horse, she looked like she could do that 7 days a week. Sure she’s an Olympian but also tolerant and at ease with all the costumed pageantry, far more at ease than Charles.

      • EBS says:

        There was a story in one of the papers that William’s horse was doped to make him more docile. Cue outrage, denials etc.

  6. Eurydice says:

    They certainly know how to put on a show, don’t they? Centuries of experience, a cast of thousands and the world’s largest costume closet.

    • MY3CENTS says:

      I hope the other brother is boiling, sweating and Incandescent in that stupid costume.
      I think they all look pretty miserable which is the status quo for that lot.

    • mary says:

      The obscene wealth on display is just a small glimpse of the wealth stolen by the Monarchy
      from its own people and from other people around the world.
      The blood and sweat and treasures of millions of exploited people.
      Not something to be celebrating.

    • H says:

      I worked alongside princess Anne and can confirm she is awesome. Behind closed doors she was funny, modest and kind. She was incredibly dedicated to the work she was doing and worked longer and harder than anyone else attending. Loved her

  7. Merricat says:

    The pomp! The circumstance! The money spent on military displays!

  8. Digital Unicorn says:

    Am glad to see that she took the salute with the Duke of Kent, who its said she is fond of (he and his wife are apparently very nice people, unlike his brother).

    I can’t with these photos – Kate as usual makes sure she’s in shot. Someone seriously needs to have a word with her on that – i know there has been occasions in the past where William has told her to move.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      @DU – I agree with you 100% but it is just as much the fault of the photographers.

    • Jenny says:

      Surely the balcony positioning was organized ahead of time. Which makes it very interesting that most of the TV coverage was the shot here—Charles, Queen, Keen & kids. No Will in the frame.

      • Becks1 says:

        It’s been said that the balcony is usually just a mad rush to get into position before the flyover and the positions are usually not as thought out as people assume. I think the Queen takes her position and then everyone kind of falls into place around her.

        No way would William agree to a balcony appearance where Kate has a more visible role than him. She pushes to get her spot.

      • Margaret says:

        You did see Sophie try and stand by the queen, kate muscled her out. The look on the wessexes face, was priceless. Loved it. The cambridges, especially kate, dear Sophie have no friends, and no honor. I do believe kate will need to watch her back. Catty Sophie is capable of lowdown acts too.

      • MeganC says:

        Sophie was out of her mind if she thought she could get between the queen and the FFQC.

      • Princessk says:

        You need to see footage of Sophie trying to position herself behind so that she can be in the frame but she gives up when Kate won’t budge. Edward comes along and with a look of resignation just directs his son to the edge of the balcony where the Wessexes are all out of the frame.
        Sophie pretends to get on with Kate but l bet she can’t stand her.

      • Princessk says:

        At one point Charles tried to get Louis to stand next to him. If Kate wanted to be helpful she would have urged Louis to move but she wanted him next to her. If Charles had Louis next to him there would have been some sweet grandfather shots but no Kate wanted Louis because she knew that would provide pics of her mothering him.

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        Kate cock blocks Sophie – if you watch the footage it looks like Khate initially moves aside to let Sophie pass but when she realises Sophie is going to stand there she aggressively moves herself directly in front of Sophie.

    • BUBS says:

      Someone on Twitter pointed out that when the press were still waiting for H and M to show up, they kept panning to the window of the Maj Gen’s office only to find Kate standing front and center refusing to let the camera get anyone else. It was so funny. Like every single time they would pan to that window, Kate was standing right there in the middle of the shot!
      Personally, I think she has a complex. She does this all the time. It’s a “small person mentality”. Like she knows she doesn’t fully measure up so this is a way for her to placate her ego. It’s all so very funny but they do need to have a word with her because more people are noticing.

    • Becks1 says:

      Okay I watched a clip as they entered the balcony, and DAMN Kate was not moving from that spot. It seemed at first Charles was going to stand next to the Queen, and then he moved to the other side with Camilla, and Kate took up her spot with Louis clearly so she was in all the shots with the Queen and Louis, and William is a few feet down from her. Then when Edward and Sophie came out Edward clearly thought he would get to stand next to his MOTHER but Kate refused to move and after a few seconds Edward moved down the balcony.

      Damn. She was not giving up that spot lol.

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        To me this behaviour proves that all the stories about Khate being the kingmaker, peacekeeper and saviour of the Monarchy are coming directly from the Middletons and sanctioned by Khate.

        She has proven repeatedly that she makes EVERYTHING about her – look at Phil’s funeral. Also, didn’t she try a similar stunt with the Spanish royals and she ended up be sat next to a plant?!?! It was def during a visit to one of the European RFs.

        If they are still married when Cain takes the throne, you can bet she and her family will do their best to make it the Middleton Monarchy, centred around Khate – the one true Kween.

        Khate and Carol(e) are not content with what they have – they want to BE the actual royal family. The Middleton family ambition and narcissism knows no bounds but karma is coming for them. Khate will never be Queen Consort, as it stands am not sure she will even make it to Princess of Wales (a title that she is desperate for).

        It seems that the closer Chuck gets to the throne the more emboldened he is becoming in dealing with the Cambridges. He has a lot of power at the moment and he is welding it with the support of his mother. I think thats one of the many reason they both look so miserable – they are not getting away with their usual sh!t.

      • Alexandria says:

        Thanks for watching the video. That is hilarious.

  9. Colby says:

    Ok, I’m just going to say this one time in all this coverage…

    As an American, this is wild to see. The money and energy, all the people that showed up to watch this….I will never understand the devotion to this family.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      I think it is more a devotion to an idea and devotion to “England” expressed in the presence of one person.

      • SarahCS says:

        That and TQ has been alive longer than most of us – on our stamps, on our money, etc. So whether you take any interest in the family or not (most don’t), she is just there and always has been. It’s the feeling of stability and reassurance washed down with a massive dose of palace propaganda.

        Once she’s no longer around…

      • Alice says:

        When Princess Charlotte of Wales died (the one whose death led to Queen Victoria) in childbirth and her baby with her, there was a really touching piece written about the wild outpouring of grief in the following days. It basically said they weren’t just mourning Charlotte, they were mourning ALL the Charlottes, all the daughters/wives/sisters/friends lost in childbirth because at the time of course everyone knew someone who died giving birth.

        I can still that still being true to some extent. Even I look at the Queen and think how she’s been there my whole life, and my parent’s lives. Most people alive were born under her reign. It’s a bad system and it should be dismantled, but like, there’s heavy symbolism there and at a time of great change her (coming) death is really going to turn the page of a timeline.

    • BeanieBean says:

      Thirty years ago I went down to London specifically for this spectacle. (American, grad student in England at the time.). It’s one of those things you do as a tourist if you happen to be there; because damn, they put on a nice parade! It is quite something to behold all that pageantry on display. I didn’t get a sense of ‘devotion’ or anything from the spectators, just an appreciation of the event. But then, I like parades! And history & museums & marching bands, so I’m predisposed toward liking this kind of event. Now, once is enough, and I lucked out that we had lovely weather.

  10. Cel2495 says:

    lol, they look like clowns with all those medals that none of them earned…lol

    • HeyJude says:

      And the one who actually earned them isn’t allowed to wear them in essence. It shows just how rotten this family is and how they don’t give a damn about England or they’d never treat a war hero like Harry as bad as they have using his real achievements as tools of punishment. Rotten anti-veteran egomaniacs the lot of them.

  11. Maeve says:

    It’s not easy to carry off a bicorn hat in this day and age but Anne manages it with ease. She looks better in uniform than any of them.
    I will say this – Britain remains pre-eminent in formation marching whilst playing musical instruments in very smart red coats and ginormous overheated hats, even if everything else is going to hell in a handcart. The troops looked immaculate – good work lads and lasses.

  12. CC says:

    They had to kill a poor bear to make one of those stupid hats?

  13. Beach Dreams says:

    They sure love playing dress up with these fake medals. I’m not sure who looks the most foolish!

    On a side note, nice to see that Will and Kate still care so much about social distancing, judging by those balcony videos and photos. The only other couple with such distance were the Wessexes, but that’s because their children were standing between them.

  14. Beach Dreams says:

    Looking at all the footage you can tell she’s rattled by Meghan being there. When she’s not positioning herself for the cameras on the balcony or in the office, she’s trying to get her kids to be still and behave while looking tense.

    Oops, this was in reply to Digital Unicorn’s comment.

  15. Brassy Rebel says:

    I haven’t googled his age, but the Duke of Kent looks at least 100 years older than the Queen who is approaching the century mark herself.

    • Alice says:

      He’s almost ten years younger than she is, but yeah, he hasn’t aged as well. Her mother’s genes were truly something.

    • Lily says:

      You criticize the Duke of Kent for not looking young. He is eighty-six! He is old. Let the very old man look very old. Sheesh!

  16. sunny says:

    Betty looks like she is having a grand old time! Seriously she looks delighted and is engaging with everyone. When I saw her standing on her own like that I thought of athletes being shot up with cortisone so they can perform in competitions. The men in grey must be so relieved.

    In a hilarious note, one of the things for the jubby is torches/beacons being lit across the Commonwealth. In Canada, town criers read the proclamation from coast to coast. I wonder if the town crier bit is happening across all of the Commonwealth?

    • Julia K says:

      I’m glad she’s having a good time! This is her last hurrah and she should savor every minute.

  17. Bridget says:

    I do like that the Duke of Kent got some spotlight. He’s been “serving” the queen for her entire reign, so it seems fitting that the older royals get some attention for their long years of serving the monarchy as well.

  18. JRenee says:

    I’ve seen the clip. Kate does look like she’s purposely positioned close to the Queen. And it looked like Louis wanted to go to PC but Kate whispered something to him.

    • Steph says:

      I saw the video too. It was a close up. William initially tried to get her to go where he was but she snapped at him and went next to the queen. It was so funny. 😆

      • India says:

        Khhhhate is going to pay for that. Bulliam is going to give it to her in the neck.

  19. Steph says:

    How come Edward wasn’t with them? It seems like a random exclusion

    • Lily says:

      Edward was there on the balcony with his wife and children. Edward is on one end of the balcony if you find a shot of the entire balcony and rode in one of the carriages.

    • Princessk says:

      Edward was a bit pissed that his family were shunted to the end of the balcony and hardly showed in the photos.

  20. tamsin says:

    The Duke of Kent may look older than the Queen, but I believe he is a stroke survivor. And I have the impression that he is the epitome of duty, and has been a steady and quiet support to the Queen her entire reign. I thought it was very touching to see these two elderly cousins taking the salute together. They and Princess Alexandra are the last three, I think.

  21. J. Ferber says:

    Steph, I read all the comments and people are saying Edward tried to stand on the other side of the queen (Charles being on the other side) and Kate wouldn’t let him. She stood like a statue and would not move. He gave her a dirty look and moved on. She is a very strange woman indeed.