Awkward Royal Balcony Moments That Made Viewers Cringe

There's never a better time to get a glimpse of the royal family's real dynamic than during one of their many balcony appearances at Buckingham Palace. Fans love getting to watch the whole family interact during Jubilee celebrations, royal weddings, coronations, and the famous Trooping of the Color. 

The royal balcony photo call is a time-old tradition dating back to 1851, when Queen Victoria greeted her subjects from the balcony at the start of the Great Exhibition. She is also credited with bringing out the royal family onto the balcony after a royal wedding. Since then, the royal family has been known to gather on the balcony to wave at fans on a variety of special royal occasions.

Naturally, when the whole family gets together, things don't always go to plan. Whether it's the young royals misbehaving or old grudges coming to the forefront, the royal balcony photo call can sometimes be nothing short of excruciating for the royals. Here are a few times when things got a little too embarrassing. 

Prince Harry's marked absence wasn't the only awkward part of the 2023 coronation balcony photo call. Things also got a little embarrassing when Prince Louis, Kate Middleton and Prince William's youngest child, got a little too excited during the Red Arrows flypast. 

In footage from ITV, the young boy can be seen pulling faces, making silly gestures, and generally stealing focus from the rest of the royals. He was also spotted doing a silly dance while waving to the crowd as his mother gently tried to keep him calm. Naturally, most fans loved watching the young prince acting like, well, just a regular little boy. However, there's no denying that this moment was probably just a little cringeworthy for some of the royals on the balcony. One MP even tweeted about what he saw as "the quite repellent antics of Prince Louis." However, a fan was quick to reply, "He is a 5 year old boy, was well behaved and sat for hours in the church. If you actually watch the footage balcony, you would of seen he was just excited by all of the activity."

While Queen Camilla may have been impatient, King Charles III was, apparently, looking a little anxious during the coronation balcony appearance. According to the Express, Charles seemed pretty wary of the edge of the balcony itself. A lip reader reported that the new King told his wife he "mustn't get too close" to the edge "or I might give myself a fright." He also allegedly told her to "be careful." Who knew — after all of these balcony photo calls, Charles is still frightened. 

However, while Charles may have been feeling anxious about heights, he didn't have to worry about the public's reception of him. According to body language expert Judi James, his anxiety seemed to dissipate once he saw the crowds below. "This balcony appearance showed Charles genuinely look surprised and humbled by the roar of affection from the crowds," she told the Daily Record. "It was the moment the anxiety lifted from his features and a more relaxed smile take its place."

When it comes to the royal balcony, not all positions are equal. The queen or king usually stands front and center, while their closest family members stand close by. On the edges and at the back, you'll usually find the distant cousins. However, in 2019, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, despite their prominent position in the family, seemed to be shoved to the very back of the line-up.

As body language expert Judi James told the Mirror at the time, the positioning may have been related to the media rumors about Meghan's alleged feud with Kate Middleton. In fact, she noted that both Harry appeared unhappy and uncomfortable during the event, while Meghan looked isolated from the rest of the family. 

Considering the fact that Meghan and Harry would later open up about how unwelcome they felt in the family, this balcony appearance certainly looks pretty awkward in hindsight.

Before there was Prince Louis, there was Prince Harry. It turns out that as a young boy, Harry was an awful lot like his nephew. Like Louis, the young Harry had a tendency to act out during his early balcony appearances. At the Battle of Britain 50th Anniversary Parade in 1990, Harry was spotted stealing attention while play fighting with his cousin Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (via Heart). 

In the clip, Beatrice can be seen trying to get Harry's attention, when he starts to elbow her in the arm. Diana quietly tells him off, before trying to move the two cousins apart — Harry struggles and fights his way back to his original spot. Luckily, Diana and Sarah didn't seem too distressed by the encounter and can be seen laughing at their children together.

It's pretty to adorable to see a young Harry acting up on the balcony just like his nephew would years later.

Another Trooping of the Color, another opportunity for the royal children to cause a (very adorable) scene on the Buckingham Palace balcony. In 2018, the two culprits were Savannah Phillips, the daughter of Peter Phillips (Princess Anne's son), and Prince George, the oldest child of Prince William and Kate Middleton. 

During the ceremony, the two cousins could be seen messing around. At one point, Savannah even put her hand over George's mouth while he was singing the national anthem, a mischievous look on her face as she stared directly into the cameras. This move could have been something out of a horror movie — but in the context of the event, it was simply another hilarious royal balcony moment. After all of the shenanigans, the parents quietly separated the two children to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

Of course, fans loved watching the two kids. One tweeted, "Favorite moment of the day. Hope this pic is saved for his coronation day." Another wrote, "There we were all thinking what a shy little boy Prince George is and you see him there on the balcony being very mischievous." Another praised Savannah's comedic timing, writing, "How did she manage this so impeccably, without looking away from camera? My idol." While this moment may have been a little unprofessional, it's definitely one of our favorites.

During the 2022 Jubilee, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their three children stood on the balcony on the final day of celebrations. One hilariously awkward moment from the day eventually found its way onto TikTok. The clip shows the family singing the national anthem. When the song comes to an end, there is a big confetti display — and it's pretty clear that none of them were expecting it. All five of them jump suddenly. Watching their individual reactions is hilarious. The young Prince Louis looks terrified, Princess Charlotte looks pleasantly surprised, while Prince George simply looks utterly confused. After the initial shock, the five royals all shared a laugh over their surprise. 

Fans could not get enough of the adorable clip. "Even the queen had a little giggle haha," one fan replied. "Kate went into laughing mode immediately," wrote another. A third commented, "You can tell by the way Prince William moves his mouth he was trying hard not to laugh at them too." While their reaction may not have been wholly appropriate, clearly, everyone found it pretty funny — even the queen!