The key royals who were conspicuously absent on Trooping the Colour balcony

Edinburgh Live

13 hours ago

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While the majority of senior working members of the royal family took their prestigious positions on the Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour, some were conspicuously absent from the coveted spot to watch the RAF flypast.
King Charles took centre stage, accompanied by Queen Camilla. Prince William and Princess Kate, along with their three children George, Charlotte and Louis, also graced the balcony.
Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, made appearances too, alongside the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Anne's husband Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Duke of Kent.
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Those who missed out on a balcony spot included Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew, Zara Tindall, and James, the Earl of Wessex, who were also absent from last year's balcony line-up. As expected, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not part of the Trooping celebrations.
Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was also notably missing from this year's Trooping the Colour, despite her parents securing a spot on the balcony, reports the Mirror.
Although Lady Louise doesn't attend all Royal engagements with her parents, many had anticipated her presence at this year's event, given she was invited to last year's celebrations.
Although she is not a working Royal and is currently undertaking her studies at St Andrew's University in Scotland, she doesn't often participate in Royal events. Her most recent appearance with the family was during the annual Christmas Day walkabout in Sandringham last year.
Traditionally, the late Queen Elizabeth would invite the extended Royal family to join on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the RAF flypast. However, the format of this gathering shifted significantly with the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2022, which also marked the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
For the first time, the Queen chose to extend the balcony invitation exclusively to working members of the Royal family, subsequently excluding Harry, Meghan, and Prince Andrew from the festivities.
Buckingham Palace, commenting on the monarch's decision to limit attendees to those engaged in official public duties, indicated it was made "after careful consideration".
Yet there was an exception amongst the non-working royals: Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence was granted balcony access. Sir Tim, Princess Anne's husband, though he holds no Royal duties himself, is a constant presence and support to the Princess Royal during her myriad of Royal engagements.
The palace emphasized that the Queen was content to have him on the balcony as he is a regular "frequent attendee and support for the Princess Royal on official engagements".