28 May 2024 , 11:06
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It's one of the best-loved events in the royal calendar with its all-important balcony moment seen as the pinnacle of the day.
And according to reports, King Charles is facing a big decision on exactly who will be on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the conclusion of this year's Trooping the Colour event. The annual King's birthday parade is set to take place in just over two weeks and always comes to an end with members of the Royal Family on the palace balcony for the RAF flypast, which features the mesmerising Red Arrows.
In the reign of the late Queen, nearly all members of the family, including extended relatives, would all pack onto the balcony for the exciting moment. But at the last Trooping the Colour of her reign and other balcony appearances since Charles ascended to the throne, only those who are working royals have been allowed to appear.
In previous years, the palace balcony would be packed at the end of Trooping the Colour (Getty Images)This means the likes of Princess Beatrice and Eugenie as well as Zara and Mike Tindall and Peter Phillips have not been seen on the balcony in recent years. However, recently, the royal cousins were called on to support Prince William when he hosted a palace garden party for his father - and went around chatting to the assembled guests.
And according to The Telegraph, this poses a question for the King ahead of the much-anticipated balcony appearance. Its royal editor Hannah Furness writes: "The Prince of Wales would be keen to extend similar invitations again, in the spirit of including the wider family, as his grandmother once did.
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"The King, too, has seemed visibly buoyed by the company of his nieces and nephews, rarely looking happier than he did clasping Zara Tindall in a hug at the Royal Windsor Horse Show this month on his way back from cancer treatment.
Prince William at a Buckingham Palace garden party last week (PA)
Princess Beatrice and Eugenie supported William at the party (PA)"He must now decide what to do for this year's Trooping the Colour, in which the state of the Royal family will be captured in that all-important 'balcony moment' displaying who is in and who is out."
The appearances of the likes of Beatrice and Eugenie at the garden party last week comes at a time when the slimmed-down monarchy looks slimmer than ever as the King continues his cancer treatment and the Princess of Wales takes time away as she has preventative chemotherapy following her cancer diagnosis.
It has seen royal fans ask if some of the younger members of the Royal Family could take on royal duties in order to spread the load. However, according to the Daily Mail's royal editor Rebecca English, this is unlikely to happen on a permanent basis due to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
She explained: "The Sussexes had been told very firmly by the late Queen Elizabeth that their preferred option of being 'half-in, half-out' royals while pursuing lucrative commercial careers was simply unacceptable. "This ruling was partly down to the Queen's personal sense of service. But it also owed something to her quiet belief that Harry and Meghan's allegiance to the almighty Dollar might supersede anything they promised to Queen and Country."
But Ms English said that since Harry and Meghan were not allowed to continue working as royals while seeking commercial deals elsewhere, this means that there can be "no relaxation of the rules" for any younger royals. She added: "It is full-time or nothing. The occasional garden party aside, more substantial roles for William's cousins are out of the question – for now, at least."