Charlotte pretty in pink ...just like her mummy!
TROOPING THE COLOUR SPECIAL:
PRETTY in pink, Princess Charlotte stole the show at Trooping the Colour yesterday in an adorable outfit to match her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. Along with her brother Prince George, the two-year-old watched open-mouthed at a RAF flypast, waving as the planes roared over Buckingham Palace.
Under sunny blue skies, the young royals joined the Queen, Prince Philip and members of the Royal Family for the annual event to mark the 91-year-old monarch’s official birthday.
George, three, initially appeared underwhelmed as he faced crowds in the Mall, resting his face in his hands. But the plane-obsessed child, whose father Prince William is an air rescue pilot, was soon transfixed by helicopters.
At one point Kate, dressed in a pink Alexander McQueen pleated dress and matching Jane Taylor hat, picked up Charlotte but she soon wanted to be standing next to her brother, both pointing up as the Red Arrows flew overhead.
The balcony has never appeared more youthful, with Isla and Savannah, the daughters of Peter and Autumn Phillips, making their debut appearance. They were ‘Queen insisted on minute’s silence for fire victims’ joined by Prince Charles and Camilla, dressed in an Anna Valentine cream chiffon dress with matching Philip Treacy hat, and Prince Harry wearing his Blues and Royals uniform.
After announcing his retirement from public duties last month, Philip, 96, chose to wear morning dress instead of full uniform.
The summer display of pomp and pageantry took on a sombre tone earlier when a minute’s silence was held at the Palace before the traditional carriage procession to Horse Guards. The Queen, wearing a pale blue Stewart Parvin outfit and matching hat by the late Philip Somerville, insisted on the tribute to the victims of Tuesday night’s Grenfell Tower fire.
The Prime Minister was unusually absent from the important day in the Armed Forces’ calendar. She was chairing meetings at Downing Street in the aftermath of the tragedy in Kensington, west London.
As temperatures soared to 77F (25C), a number of soldiers fainted in the heat and were taken from the parade ground.
Trooping the Colour originates from traditional preparations for battle when a regiment’s colours, or flags, were carried, or “trooped”, down the rank so they could be seen and recognised by soldiers.