Queen appears on Buckingham Palace balcony as Platinum Jubilee celebrations kick off

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Queen appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace today as the Platinum Jubilee celebrations kicked off. The 96-year-old monarch was seen with a walking stick as she emerged during the official Trooping of the Colour ceremony.

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.

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.The traditional carriage procession left Buckingham Palace ahead of Trooping the Colour, also known as the Birthday Parade – the start of four days of festivities honouring the Queen.The nation is embracing the special extended bank holiday weekend of pomp, pageantry and star-studded festivities, which will see celebrities and the public gather in their millions in tribute to the monarch.Thousands of wellwishers draped in Union flags, party hats and plastic tiaras flocked to central London for the Trooping spectacle.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.The princess, dressed in a cornflower blue dress, and her brothers squinted in the morning sunshine during their royal jubilee outing.The Duke