Royal Family Joins Queen Elizabeth II on Balcony at Jubilee Without Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Photos

usmagazine.com:

A family affair. Queen Elizabeth II kicked off her Platinum Jubilee with a showstopping appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour on Thursday, June 2.The monarch, 96, was joined by Prince Charles and his wife, Duchess Camilla. Prince William and Duchess Kate were also in attendance with their kids, Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7 and Prince Louis, 4.

The royal family was in high spirits as they waved to the crowd.Trooping the Colour is an annual parade that commemorates the British sovereign’s birthday, but this year it doubles as a celebration of Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne.

She is the first British ruler to ever celebrate a Platinum Jubilee and is already the country’s longest-serving monarch, having surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria in 2015.Last month, royal expert Nick Bullen predicted during an interview with Us Weekly that Trooping the Colour could be a “very poignant moment” for the family — and the U.K. — given the queen’s age.When she appeared at the Windsor Horse Show’s “A Gallop Through History” event in May, Bullen recalled that there was “spontaneous applause” for the matriarch. “People were so thrilled to see her,” the True Royalty TV cofounder exclusively told Us. “When she left, there were literally people sobbing around me.

There was almost not a dry eye in the house because I think a lot of people were feeling that this might be the last moment they see the queen in person.”Though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to the U.K.