When the Royal Family appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the RAF flypast at the late Queen’s final Trooping the Colour, the former monarch was seen in conversation with one of her youngest great grandchildren Prince Louis
It may have been a big day for the late Queen as she celebrated her extraordinary 70 years on the throne. But at the start of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it was Prince Louis who stole the show.
At Trooping the Colour in 2022, which proved to be the last one the late monarch attended, Louis, then four, won the hearts of the nation as he pulled a series of playful faces and looked hugely excited during an RAF flypast that ended with a spectacular display by the Red Arrows. At one point, Louis could be seen exchanging a few words with his late great-grandmother as they awaited the planes and helicopters to fly overhead.
A lipreader told the Mirror what the pair appeared to be talking about—and it seems Louis was eager to know one thing. According to Jeremy Freeman, an expert in lipreading, Louis asked, “Are the Red Arrows coming?” To which the Queen very dryly replied, “I hope so.”
When the Red Arrows did show up and painted the sky red, white, and blue, Louis’ excitement seemed to peak. Mr Freeman said the youngster exclaimed: “Yes, yes, yes.” He also added that the Queen then said: “There it is,” before Louis added: “Oh, Red Arrows—whoah.”
Meanwhile, Mr Freeman also picked up on another exchange when young Louis was seen covering his ears as planes roared over Buckingham Palace in the shape of the number 70 – the number of years in the Queen’s reign. He says that on seeing this, the Queen said: “Ohh fun” with Kate saying “amazing” and Charlotte adding “Wow”.
As Louis covered his ears, Mr Freeman says he said: “Whoah – that was loud”, while a proud Kate said to Prince William “look at him” – about their young son.
Earlier this month, Louis also lightened the mood when he joined with his parents and siblings to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
The seven-year-old seemed to be in a playful mood when he was spotted flicking his hair back after watching older brother George, 11, make the same gesture.
The gap-toothed youngster was not phased by being watched by the world as a 1,300-strong military parade marched down The Mall, in tribute to the servicemen and women who fought to defeat Hitler’s regime or served in vital roles at home. He was seen holding on to William’s gold aiguillettes, the braided loops hanging from the shoulder of his RAF No.1 uniform, sticking out his tongue and holding out his hands palms up as if he was testing for rain, which later fell.
And he patiently tried to get his father’s attention as William spoke to a representative from the Royal British Legion until the prince broke off to speak to his son.
When the royal family gathered on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to watch an RAF flypast, his antics not only delighted royal fans but amused Kate when he appeared to get excited by the planes roaring overhead and pulled a face. But when it came to observing the national anthem, the youngster, under his mother’s watchful eye, stood still like his brother and sister beside him.