Royal Fans claim Instagram balcony photo looks ‘sparse and sad’

The Royal Family has created something of a social media stir with their choice of Instagram photo to mark today’s Trooping the Colour celebrations. 

The Queen’s account shared a photo of today’s Buckingham Palace balcony reunion with only eight top members, seemingly highlighting the future of the monarchy as a slimmed-down operation. 

This year, only working members of the Royal Family were invited on to the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch the traditional flypast at Trooping the Colour, with a handful of exceptions including Prince William’s children and Princess Anne’s husband. 

But despited the fact 18 people were invited, the photo posted on social media featured only the heir to the throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and the second in line Prince William with his wife Kate and their children Louis, Charlotte and George alongside the Queen. 

Prince Charles has long made it known that he wants a slimmed-down monarchy when he becomes King, and the photo certainly hints at the shape of things to come, 

Instagram followers congratulated The Queen for a fabulous morning, but spotted the sparse balcony, with many commenting how ‘sad it was’ to see so few relatives alongside her.  

‘So I hear Prince Harry was there but he wasn’t allowed to stand  with them up there??? If this is true, what sort of division is this?’ one wrote.

And another said: ‘What a shame the balcony is so sparse.’

In order to avoid any awkwardness surrounding the presence of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew, the Queen decreed that only working members of the Royal Family would join her on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the flypast.

The balcony appearance, which is often seen as the centrepiece of major royal occasions, including Trooping the Colour and weddings, previously saw the Queen’s extended family gather to watch a flypast and is a rare chance for fans to see the entire extended family together.  

In 2019, there were 40 members of the family present, including her grandchildren and their families, as well as more distant relatives like her cousins’ children. 

In 2020, due to the pandemic the Trooping the Colour was done differently with a more paired down version at Windsor Castle with no public present, but still televised, therefore no balcony shot. And in 2021, the event was again held at Windsor Castle.

But this year, after two tumultuous years, just 17 members of her family were invited, including: The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, The Princess Royal and Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. 

Following his ejection from public life, after settling a civil court case in America over allegations of sexual abuse against Virginia Giuffre (which he vehemently denies), it was inconceivable that Prince Andrew would be given a spot.

Indeed, he was not even invited to join other royal family members including Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex to watch Trooping the Colour at the Major General’s Office overlooking the Whitehall parade ground.

However, in paring the list down to just 17 people to avoid potential diplomatic pitfalls, the Queen has been forced to omit a number of well-liked family members including her much-loved grandchildren and their families. 

Her cousins, including Prince Michael of Kent, and their families, with whom the Queen enjoys a warm relationship are also out in the cold, with a total of at least 34 royals absent from the balcony. 

Their father’s absence means that Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice also did not appear with their husbands and children. 

Their cousin Peter Philip’s would typically appear with his now ex-wife Autumn and their two daughters, and so the York sisters would reasonably have been expected to be joined by Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank and Beatrice’s husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi – not to mention the sisters’ children Sienna and August, if they felt they weren’t too young. 

Similarly the Queen’s other adult grandchildren, Peter Philips and Zara Tindall have been excluded with their families, even though their mother Princess Anne and stepfather Sir Timothy Laurence joined the Queen. 

Four days of Platinum Jubilee celebrations kicked off this morning with the Queen’s birthday parade, which took place ahead of Trooping the Colour. 

Three carriages left the forecourt of Buckingham Palace carrying members of the Royal Family down The Mall, with the Duchess of Cornwall riding alongside Kate Middleton and her children in the first carriage.

George, eight, Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Louis smiled and waved enthusiastically as they sat in a row in the carriage, known as a barouche.

George was dressed in a navy suit, white shirt and blue tie for the occasion, while Louis was wearing a sailor-style white and navy top echoing an outfit worn by his father at the 1985 Trooping event.

Charlotte’s hair was down, dressed up with two fine plaits fastened with a blue ribbon, and she wore a cornflower dress. The Duchess of Cambridge was wearing a white coat dress by Alexander McQueen and a hat by Philip Treacy.

The Cambridge children bowed their heads when the national anthem was played on their arrival into Horse Guards Parade. 

They were followed by the Earl and Countess of Wessex with children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn; then the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence in the third carriage.

Lady Louise looked elegant in a Philip Treacy hat first sported by Sophie Wessex, 57, to Trooping the Colour in 2009, which she paired with a vibrant pink floral dress. The teenager finished the look with a pair of delicate pink earrings. 

The pink ensemble perfectly complemented her mother Sophie’s outfit. The Countess of Wessex opted for a summery pink gingham outfit with matching hat. 

Meanwhile James, 14, looked smart in a black suit and Prince Edward wore military dress uniform for the occasion. 

Charles wore his scarlet Colonel of the Welsh Guards uniform and green thistle sash riding a horse named George. William rode on Derby in his Irish Guards uniform and Anne on a horse named Sir John in her Colonel of the Blues and Royals uniform as part of the colourful parade. 

The royals, including the Wessexes, watched Trooping the Colour from the Major General’s Office overlooking the Whitehall parade ground.

Among their number were Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, who have travelled to the UK with their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, who turns one on Saturday. 

The Duchess stepped out in an elegant navy blue dress and a dramatic wide-brimmed white hat with an oversized navy bow by British milliner Stephen Jones.

The mother-of-two was spotted entertaining Peter Phillips’ daughters Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, and Mike and Zara Tindall’s girls Mia, eight, and Lena, three, as they grew bored of watching the military display. 

Meghan pouted, gasped and beamed as she put on an animated display in the window, with Princess Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi watching from behind. At one point the Duchess put a finger to her mouth to ‘shush’ cheeky Mia Tindall, who was on typically boisterous behaviour.

Also in attendance were Princess Beatrice and her husband Edo, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack and Anne’s children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and their families. 

The group did not include the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge or the Princess Royal. 

Her Majesty remained at Buckingham Palace where she took the returning cavalry’s salute from the balcony.

Charles took the salute as the Colour of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards was trooped and inspected the Troops of the Household Division on the monarch’s behalf. He was joined by his elder son Prince William and sister Princess Anne, with all three on horseback. 

Prince Andrew has been entirely cut out of proceedings and will not appear during any part of the day.

Following Trooping the Colour, the royal carriages made the return journey down the Mall in preparation of the flypast. 

The Queen, 96, exclaimed ‘incredible!’ as she stepped out onto the Buckingham Palace balcony to take the return salute.

She was joined on the balcony by her dutiful cousin, the Duke of Kent, who carries out engagements on behalf of the Royal Family. 

After a brief interlude inside, the Queen re-emerged at 1pm to observe the flypast.

In order to avoid any awkwardness surrounding the presence of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew, the Queen decreed that only working members of the Royal Family would join her on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the flypast.

The balcony appearance, which is often seen as the centrepiece of major royal occasions, including Trooping the Colour and weddings, previously saw the Queen’s extended family gather to watch a flypast and is a rare chance for fans to see the entire extended family together. 

In 2019, there were 40 members of the family present, including her grandchildren and their families, as well as more distant relatives like her cousins’ children. 

But this year just 17 members of her family were present: The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, The Princess Royal and Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

The Royal Family have now finished this portion of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, although they will make other appearances over the course of the next four days. 

It is a particularly significant trip for the Duchess of Sussex. 

Meghan has not seen any of the family since she and her husband acrimoniously quit as working royals and moved to North America in early 2020, while Prince Harry only saw them very briefly at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral last year.

The last public occasion the Sussexes attended together in the UK was the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in March 2020 when the atmosphere could not have been more awkward. 

William and Kate virtually blanked Harry and Meghan that day, leaving Prince Edward and Sophie to try to keep the peace.

Fortunately William, who has been most deeply affected by his brother’s actions and has struggled to hide his hurt, was not forced to greet the couple in public. 

And Kate proved to be an admirable peacemaker when she made a point of breaking the ice and speaking to Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

Harry and Meghan are staying with their children at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. They had always been expected to join the congregation for tomorrow’s service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s 70-year reign at St Paul’s Cathedral, but their participation with Trooping is seen as an additional olive branch from Her Majesty.   

Yesterday, the Queen sent a car and a security detail to collect Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet after their private jet landed in the UK from California, ahead of her celebrations.

Lilibet has never been in the UK – or met any of her British family – while Archie, who was born in Britain, has not been here since he was a baby. 

In the latest sign that hostilities between The Firm and the Sussexes are thawing, Her Majesty’s Land Rover greeted the family and their children at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire before taking them to Frogmore Cottage.

An insider told The Sun that ‘the Queen believed it was the right thing to do’ to send her car to meet her grandson and his family. The couple’s Embraer private jet landing at Farnborough, and the Queen’s black Land Rover – escorted by a Volkswagen people carrier – driving onto the tarmac.

It is thought the family were believed to have got into the blacked-out VW car, and that they travelled without their customary entourage or senior staff working for their Archewell charity. It also said Netflix camera crews – who have been following the couple for an £11million documentary – stayed behind.

Harry, Meghan and their two children were not given a police escort for the 40-minutes drive from Farnborough to Windsor.

Lilibet will turn one on Saturday, with a party expected at Frogmore likely to be attended by royals such as Princess Eugenie, who is close to Harry and Meghan, and the Queen could also pop in if she doesn’t attend the Epsom Derby. It will be the first time the monarch will meet the great-granddaughter named after her. 

But Prince William and Kate will not be there because they will be representing Her Majesty in Cardiff as senior working royals are sent to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to mark the monarch’s 70 years on the throne.