I love this royal pattern. We’ve seen it a lot in recent years. Step #1: The Windsors do something wildly unpopular, or they get booed or heckled and suddenly look out-of-touch. Step #2: Everyone is reminded of how the left-behinds are a bunch of lazy flops and that becomes the story. Step #3: A few days later, the royal propaganda machine begins reimagining the “unpopular Windsors” incident and tries to force the royal counternarrative that your eyes must have deceived you, the Windsors are perfect in every way. So it is with this year’s Trooping the Colour. Ahead of Trooping, royal reporters were so bored, they wrote stories about whether Prince Harry would come. Then Trooping came and Republic protesters booed and heckled the royals, which was more noticeable because of the sparse crowd. Cameras got footage of the Princess of Wales icily glaring at protesters, her mask completely off. Well, forget all of that. Royal commentators insist that Kate is a rock star and that Charles was very happy with the image he presented of the modern monarchy and it’s pale-and-stale balcony.

By now, they’re pros. Having appeared at Trooping the Colour since they were toddlers, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8, looked completely at ease on the Buckingham Palace balcony. Throughout the morning of June 13, they waved to cheering crowds, watched the RAF flypast overhead and chatted with their parents as thousands packed the Mall below.

George — looking increasingly every bit the future king — was spotted pointing out military aircraft to Prince William, 43. He later managed to stifle a sneeze until the final notes of “God Save the King,” sharing a laugh with Kate Middleton, 44, after holding it together. Charlotte, meanwhile, appeared as poised as ever, while Louis seemed determined to savor every moment of the event.

“He was having a blast, like any other 8-year-old, loving the spectacle,” says former palace courtier Ailsa Anderson. “You can see the close bond between the three siblings.”

The appearance capped a day of military pageantry celebrating the monarch’s official birthday. And King Charles, 77, had every reason to feel encouraged as he surveyed the crowds. Still undergoing treatment for cancer, the King has spent much of the past two years navigating health challenges, family fractures and renewed scrutiny of the monarchy. But this year’s parade arrived at one of the most positive moments of his reign.

A week earlier, Charles joined much of the extended family at the wedding of his nephew Peter Phillips, following the King’s successful visit with Queen Camilla, 78, to the U.S. in April, including a well-received address to Congress. Combined with Princess Kate’s ongoing return to public life after her cancer remission announcement in early 2025, and a widely praised trip to Italy in May, the family is riding a wave of momentum unlike any since Charles became King.

Much of that optimism has centered on the Princess of Wales. “Kate is the closest they have to a rockstar member these days, and she’s the one everyone wants to see,” says royals author Catherine Mayer.

And while the royals gathered in London, Prince Harry, 41, was thousands of miles away in Texas attending Game 5 of the NBA Finals—a reminder of how far removed he has become from the royal duties and traditions that once defined his life. His expected return to Britain in July for Invictus Games events will put his relationship with the family back under the spotlight.

Yet the lasting image of the day was not one of absence. As Charles stood alongside his heir and three of his grandchildren, the monarchy’s future was on display for all to see — a powerful portrait of continuity at a moment when the institution appears to have regained its footing.

“It felt like a family affair; the King will have taken absolute joy and pleasure in that,” Anderson says. “They are starting the summer on a high.”

[From People]

The “Kate is the closest they have to a rockstar member these days” thing is so funny when you really think about it. Because it’s actually true – Kate is the “rockstar” of this motley crew. But that’s not a ringing endorsement of her star power, is it? “Oh, they’re more excited about seeing Kate than Camilla or Prince Edward!” Well, yes. That’s the only way Kate can look popular. And I also think Charles looked pretty over it during Trooping too – rather than basking in the affection of a nation, he tried to hustle off that fakakta balcony before he was supposed to.

Kate Middleton looking angry and the kids looking completely uncomfortable and confused, getting booed during trooping the colour. If looks could kill. Princess Kate didn't like that. pic.twitter.com/5Vz1ymbhf6

— Nina (@ShakeLS) June 13, 2026

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.