Prince Louis steals show as Platinum Jubilee celebrations get under way

Platinum Jubilee crowds were treated to the sight of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children taking part in their first carriage procession as historic celebrations marking the Queen’s 70-year reign began.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Louis on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

Cheers went up from thousands of spectators on The Mall as they caught sight of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis with proud parent Kate and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Thousands of wellwishers draped in Union flags, party hats and plastic tiaras flocked to central London for the traditional Trooping of the Colour spectacle.

Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and the Duchess of Cambridge during the Trooping the Colour ceremony

Members of the Household Division Foot Guards march along the Mall during the Trooping the Colour ceremony

The young Cambridges and the duchesses’ carriage, known as a barouche, was followed by another carrying the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn. George, eight, Charlotte, seven, and three-year-old Louis smiled and waved enthusiastically as they sat in a row, with Louis the youngest in the middle of his older siblings. At one point, Charlotte took charge and pushed Louis’s hand down as he continued waving.

Turlough Mor, the Irish wolf hound regimental mascot, also known as Seamus, during the Colonel's Review, the final rehearsal of the Trooping the Colour

The Queen made her first balcony appearance of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations

The Queen meanwhile arrived at Buckingham Palace, ready to take a salute from the balcony accompanied by her cousin the Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards, when the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and the Guards make their way back from the parade ground.

Dressed in a dusky dove blue Angela Kelly coat which she wore for her official portrait, and matching hat, the 96-year-old was holding a walking stick and wearing the Guards’ Badge on her coat.

Members of the public fill the Mall before a flypast during the Trooping the Colour

The Red Arrows flying in formation over Buckingham Palace

She was later joined by senior members of the Royal Family – but not princes Harry or Andrew – for a spectacular flypast that culminated with the Red Arrows. Louis brought laughter from the crowds as he covered his ears and pulled a face.

The monarch, now 96, smiled broadly and chatted happily with her family.

They were gathering again today for a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, ahead of a Buckingham Palace concert tomorrow and Royal Pageant on Sunday.