Embarrassing Trooping the Colour Moments the Royal Family Didn’t Want You To See
Every year after Trooping the Colour, which marks the British monarch’s official birthday, members of the royal family gather on Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a flypast and wave to the crowds below. It’s a time-honored tradition and one of the biggest royal events of the year. However, the family has their fair share of awkward moments up on that balcony. Like the one between Meghan Markle and the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) back in 2018.
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry recalled his wife being asked by her sister-in-law what she thought about her debut Trooping the Colour event, to which Meghan replied: “Colourful.” The duchess’s joke though fell flat as Harry remembered: “A yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole.”
While fans didn’t actually see that play out, you can imagine it was pretty awkward. Well, quite a few other awkward and embarrassing moments over the years have played out as cameras rolled. Here are those moments members of the royal family didn’t want you to see.
Prince William getting yelled at by Queen Elizabeth
Prince George and Princess Charlotte appeared on the balcony with other members of the royal family for the Trooping the Colour in 2016. While Kate held Charlotte, George stood next to his father but looked pretty tired and disinterested in what was happening so William bent down next to him to try and cheer him up and point out different things before the flypast.
However, Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t happy when she saw her grandson and the future monarch crouched down on the balcony. Cameras caught the queen scolding William, who immediately stood up as the family prepared to watch the flypast.
Prince Harry demanding Meghan ‘turn around’
Another moment caught on camera that made some cringe was in 2019 as the family stood on the balcony just before the national anthem played when Meghan turned around to ask Harry something. But the Duke of Sussex ignored her words and told her to “turn around.”
The duchess appeared stunned and tried to say something to him again before Harry seemingly demanded a second time that she “turn around.”
Meghan did turn and face forward in time for the song to begin but looked like she was on the verge of tears.
Princess Charlotte getting impatient
Following the Trooping the Colour parade in 2023, social media lit up with a video of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (formerly the Countess of Wessex) saying something to Princess Charlotte ahead of the balcony appearance.
It appeared that Charlotte was getting a little impatient before the festivities wrapped up and wanted to know how long until it was over.
Some royal fans opined that the duchess was scolding the little princess, telling her to “sit down.” But a professional lip reader dismissed those claims and told the Daily Star that Charlotte actually asked her great aunt: “Sophie, how long will it be?” To which the duchess replied: “I think it’s now.”
Prince Louis’ mad face, covering his ears, and holding his nose
Of course we couldn’t talk about Trooping the Colour moments without including Prince Louis’ antics.
The youngest of the Wales children made his balcony debut in 2019 when he nearly stole the show with his “mad face.” Louis had a mad look on his face in several photos. In one, his father tried to get his attention but the little prince’s only concern was whatever he was scowling at that day.
Louis has had some other unforgettable Trooping moments as well including in 2022 when Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and Trooping the Colour were held the same weekend. The prince was seen on the balcony screaming and covering his ears during the flypast and making other funny faces.
Then in 2023, Louis let everyone watching from afar know something smelled terrible when he held his nose and scunched up his face as he rode in a carriage with his mother and siblings. The stinky smell that got to him was reportedly horse manure.
