Trio smiled and waved at the crowds lining the route as the carriage drove to the televised military spectacle
Royal family gathered on balcony on Buckingham Palace to watch spectacular RAF fly-past
After ceremony Queen paid a 'private and quiet' visit to her husband Prince Philip, who is recovering from surgery
By IAN GALLAGHER
In many ways it was a very familiar Royal balcony tableau.
Prince William and Kate giggled and flirted. The Queen, striking in blue, acknowledged the spectacular fly-past with a beatific smile.
There was some good-natured tomfoolery from Prince Harry, who made his sister-in-law laugh with a tickling gesture. And there was even a mildly recalcitrant child, Prince Edward’s five-year-old son James, Viscount Severn, who couldn’t resist making faces.
But the glaring omission from yesterday’s line-up at the Queen’s official birthday celebrations was, of course, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is still recovering from abdominal surgery. Without his bolstering presence, the scene appeared incomplete.
No sooner had she dispensed her final wave, though, than Her Majesty was off to visit her husband in hospital.
But if the day belonged to the 87-year-old Monarch, all eyes were on the eight-months-pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, making her last public appearance before the birth of her first child.
Before the balcony appearance, Kate watched proudly as her husband took part in the traditional Trooping the Colour on horseback as Colonel of the Irish Guards.
Wearing a pale pink Alexander McQueen coat with pearl buttons and matching hat, she had travelled to the pageant in a carriage with the Duchess of Cornwall and Harry, smiling and waving at the crowds lining the route.
Other senior Royals also arrived in carriages before the Queen made her entrance, travelling with her cousin, the Duke of Kent, in a glass coach for the short journey from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade.
The Queen, dressed in a royal blue Angela Kelly coat and hat with a matching lace dress, took the salute as her family – including the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex with their daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor – looked on.
After the parade ended, the Queen was cheered as she was driven back to Buckingham Palace, and the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute in Green Park.
It is thought to be only the third time that Philip has missed the event after not attending in 1962 and 1968 when he was away on royal tours.
She first took the royal salute in 1951 - when she deputised for her sick father, George VI - and has continued receiving the mark of respect every year except 1955 when there was a national rail strike.
Other royals watching included the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex with their daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.
Taking part in the ceremony on horseback are the Prince of Wales - who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal - who is Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Cambridge - who is Colonel of the Irish Guards.
More than 1,000 soldiers, horses and musicians are taking part in the parade known as 'Trooping the Color,' an annual ceremony marking the queen's official birthday.
The ceremony is also an important social occasion for the Guardsmen taking part and gives their wives, girlfriends, and relatives the chance to celebrate the achievements of the young men and enjoy the spectacle.
Many of the spectators in the stands overlooking the parade ground were dressed in morning suits or smart suits, while women wore dresses topped with hats and fascinators.
After the parade ended, the Queen was cheered by crowds gathered along the Mall as she was driven back to Buckingham Palace, where she watched an aerial display by the RAF.
source: dailymail
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