Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's children will not be appearing at Trooping the Colour this weekend, as insiders have called King Charles's slimmed-down balcony a "shame".
King Charles has been urged to consider easing current restrictions at Trooping the Colour by royal insiders and allow more royal children to join Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis during the celebrations.
Trooping the Colour is one of the few public events where royal fans lining The Mall can catch a glimpse of the youngest generation of the Royal Family.
Over the years, moments featuring the children have become iconic — from Prince Louis cheering as planes fly overhead, to Savannah Phillips playfully covering Prince George’s mouth, and a young Prince Harry famously sticking his tongue out at the crowds.
Zara, Beatrice and Eugenie's children left out as insiders call slimmed-down balcony a 'shame'.
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These candid moments from the royal children help reinforce the image of continuity and stability that the monarchy seeks to project.
“Everyone loves a bit of positive news,” one royal insider told Hello! magazine. They added: “And if the family can brighten up people’s days, that’s worth doing.”
One of the most closely watched aspects of Trooping the Colour is who will be invited onto the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Each year, the Royal Family gathers to watch the 1pm military flypast, which ends in a patriotic display from the Red Arrows.
All the late Queen's grandchildren and great-grandchildren used to appear at Trooping the Colour, shown here in 2019.
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But the lineup has become increasingly exclusive. At present, only senior working royals are invited to take part in the tradition — a shift that’s come about through a combination of deliberate planning and circumstance.
Long before becoming monarch in 2022, King Charles was already known to favour a “slimmed-down” monarchy, aware of public criticism sometimes directed at minor royals perceived as “hangers-on.”
In earlier years, the balcony scene was far more crowded, with extended family members and their children all in attendance, prompting questions about the cost to the taxpayer.
But ahead of Trooping the Colour in 2022, which returned after a two-year break due to the pandemic, the Palace issued a statement: “After careful consideration, the Queen has decided that this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd of June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen.”
As seen here in 2024, Trooping the Colour has been restricted to working royals and their children only.
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A young Savannah Phillips (Peter Phillips's daughter) seen comforting Princess Charlotte in 2018.
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This statement not only justified the absence of Prince Andrew, who stepped down from public duties in 2019 following his Newsnight interview, but also the exclusion of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who had stepped back from their royal roles to build a new life in the US.
Reflecting on the current set-up, one insider told Hello!: “Looking back on the old photos, it seems a shame to only include the Wales children these days.”
There’s growing curiosity over whether King Charles will continue to uphold this limited approach or invite more young royals to join the occasion. Many fans would welcome the chance to see the Wales children sharing the spotlight with cousins Savannah and Isla Phillips, as well as Mia, Lena and Lucas Tindall.
However, expanding the invite would likely mean including other non-working royals — a potentially thorny issue, particularly given the ongoing rift between Prince William and Prince Harry, and the unresolved question of Prince Andrew’s future role.
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