1
2025
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Last year’s Trooping the Colour was a classic affair. Prince William and Princess Kate were both present with their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Also in attendance was the Duke of Edinburgh and Charles’s youngest sibling, Prince Edward.
2
2024
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After taking a medical leave in January 2024 following her cancer diagnosis, Princess Kate made her first public appearance in months at this Trooping the Colour ceremony. The princess wore a Jenny Packham white sheath dress, adding a black-and-white striped waistband and matching bow at the neckline for an extra flourish.
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3
2022
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The 2022 Trooping the Colour was memorable for a few reasons. For one, it was Queen Elizabeth II’s last one before her death in September 2022—though we didn’t know it at the time. Rather, the public was mostly focused on Prince Louis and his cheeky antics. The youngest son of Princess Kate and Prince William has garnered something of a reputation for his mischievousness, and the 2022 Trooping the Colour ceremony was no exception. The young prince made numerous silly faces to the camera, including one reaction to the noise of the Royal Air Force flypast that promptly took the internet by storm.
4
2020
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On account of pandemic restrictions, there was no balcony photo for the 2020 Trooping the Colour. Rather, the pomp and circumstance was exchanged for a scaled-down ceremony at Windsor Castle, rather than the typical grand parade at Buckingham Palace.
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5
2018
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2015
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Though he was born in July 2013, Prince George didn’t make his Trooping the Colour debut until two years later in 2015. He was held by his father, Prince William, and wore a pale blue romper—a mirror of Will’s own ensemble during his 1984 Trooping the Colour debut.
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7
2011
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A month after her Westminster Abbey wedding to Prince William, Kate Middleton made her first Trooping the Colour appearance as the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge in a white Alexander McQueen coat dress paired with a contrasting black hat.
8
2009
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Buckingham Palace’s balcony was near bursting with royals during the 2009 Trooping the Colour. Nearly the entire family was in attendance—including Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Prince Richard, among others.
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9
1988
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Long before Prince Louis was delighting the crowd and cameras with his silly faces, his uncle Harry was similarly showing the world his cheeky side. During the 1988 Trooping the Colour, the then three-year-old prince flashed a bit of his signature irreverence while wearing a green-and-white outfit that matched his mother, Princess Diana.
10
1984
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Prince William made his first Trooping the Colour appearance in 1984, at just two years old. He wore a pale blue romper for the debut appearance, which his son George rewore nearly 30 years later.
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11
1966
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The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II’s sister, Princess Margaret, stood with Elizabeth’s six-year-old son Prince Andrew (center) and two young boys at the 1966 Trooping the Colour.
12
1957
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Elizabeth’s first Trooping the Colour as Queen was in 1952. Five years later, the Queen was joined on the balcony by Princess Alexandra of Kent, a six-year-old Princess Anne, Princess Margaret, and an eight-year-old Prince Charles.
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