Kate and Charlotte beam as the royals arrive for Trooping the Colour in glorious sunshine with Louis and George – and a barely recognisable Prince William!

Kate and Princess Charlotte shared a sweet moment as they beamed together at today’s Trooping the Colour ceremony as the royal family and fans unite to mark the King’s birthday. 

As they arrived at Buckingham Palace, William and Kate sat in the back of a car with little Prince Louis, seven – while Princess Charlotte, 10 and Prince George, 11 sat together in front. Charlotte was seen waving at the crowds as the car passed, while Kate and William smiled fondly.

They were followed by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, who arrived together in a car, without either of their children – Lady Louise, 21 and James, 17.

As the parade got underway from Buckingham Palace, the King and Queen were seen waving and smiling as they proceeded down the Mall in an open-top carriage before the national anthem was played as they made their way to the Horse Guards Palace. 

While Prince William rode on horseback and looked almost unrecognisable, Kate sat in a carriage with their three children and smiled widely as she shared a sweet moment with Princess Charlotte. Prince George and Prince Louis wore matching suits and ties and sat opposite. 

Thousands of royal fans lined the Mall and erupted into cheers and applause as the royal family passed by. 

Prince Wales was amongst many royals, soldiers and carriage drivers who wore black armbands in remembrance of those killed in the Air India plane crash on Thursday. 

The monarch requested a minute’s silence to be held during the ceremony in tribute to the 241 passengers and crew killed when a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for Gatwick Airport came down on Thursday in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.

Some 53 Brits were onboard the doomed flight – all but one are believed to have been killed, along with dozens on the ground bringing the final death toll to at least 270. 

Black armbands were worn by the head of state and senior royals wearing military uniform riding in the ceremony to mark the King’s official birthday.

On horseback and wearing the armbands were the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel Scots Guards.

King Charles, who is receiving ongoing cancer treatment, rode in a carriage as he did last year with his wife Queen Camilla. The Queen wore a white silk crepe dress with silver embroidery by Anna Valentine with a hat by Philip Treacy and a Grenadier Guards brooch.

Fans gathered early on the Mall on Saturday and braved the rain while hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal family. A small group of protesters carrying placards reading ‘Not my King’ was also in attendance. 

The procession was led on Saturday by a carriage carrying the Duchess of Edinburgh and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, ahead of a second in which the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will travel.

The Prince of Wales, Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh followed behind on horseback.

It is the first time Princess Anne has ridden in public since she suffered a head injury, thought to be caused by a horse, at her home last year. 

The Princess of Wales travelled down the Mall in an Ascot Landau seated beside her daughter Princess Charlotte, while Prince George and Prince Louis sat opposite.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla passed the royal fans in their own carriage before the King inspects his troops. 

After arriving at the parade ground, Kate took her place next to the King and Queen on the dais, in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards – a symbolic position and one she was unable to take up last year because she was receiving cancer treatment, and instead watched the ceremony with her children. 

A minute’s silence was then held to remember all the victims of this week’s Air India disaster. 

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said Charles requested amendments to the Trooping the Colour programme ‘as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy’. 

The King issued a written message soon after the plane crash, saying he was ‘desperately shocked by the terrible events’ and expressed his ‘deepest possible sympathy’.

Posting on social media ahead of the ceremony this morning, the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘Sending my best wishes to His Majesty The King today at Trooping the Colour. God Save The King.’

The occasion transforms the Mall as crowds line up the streets waving flags as 1400 soldiers parade alongside 200 horses and 400 musicians from Horse Guard’s Parade to Buckingham Palace.

After the Trooping ceremony is over, the Royal Family will make their group appearance on the Palace balcony before the day concludes with a flypast.

As a former polo player and one of the Royal Family’s most accomplished equestrians, King Charles rode for years in the parade – both for his mother’s official birthday celebrations and then for his own.

But he did not appear on horseback at the event this weekend and instead travelled in a carriage for the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and back.   

Trooping the Colour is a centuries-old tradition that marks the Sovereign’s official birthday.

It dates back to the 17th century and is rooted in battlefield custom, when regimental flags, or ‘colours,’ were trooped in front of soldiers to ensure they could be recognised amid the smoke of combat. 

Last week a full-dress rehearsal, known as The Colonel’s Review, took place serving as the final run-through before the King’s official celebration.

This year, the honour of trooping the Colour falls to the Coldstream Guards, who will officially present their regimental flag, known as the Colour, to King Charles.

Following the Trooping ceremony, all eyes will be on the royal balcony to see who King Charles invites to wave to the crowds.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will be front and centre on the balcony to watch the Red Arrows flypast, but it expected a host of senior royals will be alongside them.

Prince William is joined by the Princess of Wales and their children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven. 

Princess Anne will feature with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.

Prince Edward – who like Anne will be fresh from his part in the procession – is expected on the balcony with his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh. 

They are likely to be joined by their daughter Lady Louise, 21. 

Their son James, the Earl of Wessex, 17, did not make an appearance last year and may not attend the ceremony this time around either. 

Despite his increasing frailty, the staunchly devoted Duke of Kent, 89, will likely also be among the royals on the balcony.

Also expected is the hard-working Duke of Gloucester, 80, and his 78-year-old wife Birgitte, the Duchess. 

A minute’s silence is expected to be observed by the royals and the crowd after the deaths of 52 Brits in a plane crash in India on Thursday.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, from Leicester, managed to stagger away from the disaster that killed at least 270 people including everyone else on the doomed plane.

He is miraculously the only survivor and also lost his brother Ajay in the crash. 

He has been describing how it felt like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was ‘stuck in the air’ and ‘came to a standstill’ rather than climbing after take off.

As expected, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are not attending this year’s celebrations.

Having chosen to walk away from being working royals, they have not been present at Trooping the Colour since 2019.

The other notable absentee will be Prince Andrew, who remains exiled from public royal events amid the fallout from his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and the claims made by late accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Andrew’s daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are not expected to be there either amid Charles’ desire for a slimmed-down monarchy and to keep the focus on working royals. 

Members of the royal family are expected to watch the flypast – including the RAF Red Arrows and a range of planes and helicopters – from the balcony.  

In previous years it has been a moment where the royal children shine – with little Prince Louis delighting fans last year as pretended to fly one of the planes, appearing to screw up his face as he mimicked the engine’s deafening noise.

The route for the flypast has not been officially confirmed, but the Military Air Shows has revealed an air restrictions map which shows the expected official route.

Proposed restrictions are in the vicinity of the North Sea, East Anglia, Essex and London.

Its expected the flypast will go over Buckingham Palace at 1pm. 

Held traditionally on the second Saturday in June, regardless of the Sovereign’s actual date of birth, the  celebrations have marked the monarch’s official birthday since the mid-1700s.

Queen Elizabeth attended all but two of her Trooping the Colours, missing it in 1955 when a national rail strike resulted in the event being cancelled and in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions.

In 2017, Trooping was held a few days days after the Grenfell Tower blaze and the loss of life was marked by a minute’s silence, a decision taken by Queen Elizabeth II. 

The parade is open to members of the public through an online ballot with ticketing ranging from £10 to £30 and is broadcast live on the BBC.