THE ROYAL SMILE
Beaming King Charles and royal family wave to crowds from Buckingham Palace balcony as Red Arrows lead flypast tribute
A BEAMING King Charles and the royal family waved to crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Red Arrows led a flypast tribute.
Working members joined the monarch in front of thousands of spectators today for his magnificent first Trooping the Colour parade.
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As an RAF Lancaster Bomber, flanked by two spitfires, soared over the Palace, Prince William and Princess Kate watched in awe with Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
Three Hercules then roared giving their salute to the King as part of their last service with the Air Force.
William hugged Charlotte and stroked her shoulders as George and Louis were left stunned by the planes.
Making up the initials CR, which stands for Charles Rex, 18 typhoons made their way through the skies of London.
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The stunning RAF Red Arrows then painted the sky red, white and blue as fans below cheered.
As the National Anthem was sang, the Royals waved as cute Louis saluted.
Earlier, the Princess of Wales, wearing earrings belonging to Princess Diana, sat next to the Queen while George, Charlotte and Prince Louis, sat opposite as they joined the procession.
The family then followed Charles as he rode a horse down The Mall for the event which celebrates his birthday.
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William wore his military uniform, donning his Royal Air Force medals, while Kate stunned in an emerald green dress and matching hat.
Along with his mother’s stunning sapphire engagement ring, William also gave Kate her earrings after he proposed in 2010.
The precious jewels were a favourite of Princess Diana's as they perfectly matched her engagement ring and could be seen worn by her daughter-in-law today.
George and Louis looked dapper in their matching navy suits and red ties.
Charlotte wore a cute white dress with a red trim and neck scarf.
The siblings smiled and waved at 8,000 spectators gathered.
Cheeky Louis stole the show again as he got up to mischievous fun in the carriage.
The young royal, sat in the middle of his brother and sister, held his nose, played with his hair and pointed at people.
It echoed his much-loved behaviour from other royal events including the Platinum Jubilee.
Today King Charles was
the first monarch to ride out in 37 years.
Beside him, was the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh.
As they made their way down The Mall, they were escorted by troops from the Household Cavalry's Life Guards and Blues and Royals - wearing shining breastplates and plumed helmets.
When the clock struck at 11am, Charles received a salute before the National Anthem was played in the Horse Guards Parade.
The event featured around 1,500 soldiers in total with hundreds of Guardsmen lined up on the parade ground waiting to be inspected by the King.
Police officers and paramedics had to assist a female solider who fainted during the procession.
For the first time since 1989, all five regiments of Foot Guards - the Welsh, Scots, Irish, Coldstream and Grenadier - were on parade together for Trooping.
Kate and William then joined The King and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as the planes roared overhead with a 41-gun salute.
Harry and Meghan did not attend the historical event.
Seventy military aircraft including the RAF Red Arrows shot through the skies.
Spitfires, Typhoons, Chinooks, Apaches and a range of other military aircraft flew over 13 counties.
The Red Arrows assembled over the North Sea area and left at around 11.45am to begin the route inland over the Lincolnshire coast, Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex.
They then made their way into London near Hainault Country Park, in Essex, at around 12.40pm before headed to Buckingham Palace for 1pm.
Brits in a number of counties were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the famous red jets.
The RAF's Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton previously said: "We are very proud to be able to showcase our capabilities to our Commander-in-Chief, on this historic occasion for His Majesty The King.
“We have planned a fitting and appropriate tribute for our monarch, that should be a true spectacle for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth."
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Trooping the Colour has marked the official birthday of the British monarch for more than 260 years.
Despite King Charles’ actual birthday being on November 14, monarchs typically have two birthdays, with one marked by Trooping the Colour.
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