Prince Louis Absolutely Steals The Show At The Start Of Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Queen Elizabeth is officially the British royal family's longest-serving monarch. She ascended to the throne in 1952 after her father King George VI's death, and this week her historic reign of 70 years is being commemorated in London (via ABC News). The festivities began with the Trooping the Colour, where over 1,400 soldiers and 200 horses paraded through the streets in great fanfare to mark the queen's birthday (via Royal UK). At the same time, aircrafts from the Royal Air Force drew a seven and zero in the sky to highlight the number of years the queen has served (via The New York Times). The queen herself made an appearance after a long year of cancelling engagements due to illness and mobility issues. While she toured internationally and locally during her Silver Jubilee and her Golden Jubilee, the Queen will remain in Buckingham Palace for this year's celebrations.
The Platinum Jubilee celebrations also brought out all four generations of the queen's family onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace for a special photo-op that included outfits coordinated with the Queen's powder blue coat with a white trim and the military attire donned by Prince Charles and Prince William. The Queen's great-grandchildren — Princess Charlotte, Prince George, and Prince Louis — were also in attendance and wore shades of blue and navy.
In the midst of the pomp and pageantry, Louis managed to capture the sole attention of spectators with his mischievous antics. Read on to see how the 4-year-old stole the show at the celebrations.
Prince Louis bared all his emotions during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
Prince Louis, along with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, made his carriage debut at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the queen. He wore a blue mini sailor suit that his father Prince William also wore to the Trooping the Colour in 1985 at the age of 2, per People. His siblings wore complementary colors, with George in a navy suit and Charlotte in a powder blue dress. But Prince Louis did not let viewers' attention remain on his outfit for too long.
In the carriage, while Princess Charlotte and Prince George bowed their heads to the royal colour and waved smilingly, Prince Louis had other plans. The 4-year-old waved enthusiastically to bystanders and was captured sticking his tongue out and pulling animated faces (via the Daily Mail). His antics did not stop there; the prince bared all his emotions when he stood with his family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. During the flypast of the aircrafts, Prince Louis covered his ears and seemed to be utterly exasperated by the loud noises.
In turns, he covered his eyes and ears and then pulled down his cheeks; he was also seen sometimes shouting or frowning. In a perfectly curated photo-op for the royals, Prince Louis' raw emotions definitely grabbed the attention of everyone watching. His moods flooded the #princelouis hashtag on TikTok. The only time the prince didn't seem as overwhelmed by the occasion was when he was near his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Louis won the internet
On the balcony, Prince Louis appeared to be upset by the loud noises from the aircraft and celebrations. According to lip reader Juliet Sullivan, the prince's mother Kate Middleton tried to distract him by saying, "It's so cool look at that" (via the Daily Mail). Unconvinced, the little prince broke away from his mother and rushed towards his great-grandmother. "He really is trying to squeeze by," Middleton appeared to have said to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Queen Elizabeth also did her best to settle him. Sullivan noted that she appeared to tell him to "look up at all that smoke."
After observing the conversation, body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL said that the Queen and her great-grandson seemingly bonded over their "childlike excitement." James also said that "Louis made this conversation look like the most natural thing in the world and his lack of anything bordering on fear suggested these two might share a rather close friendship based on shared fun behind the scenes, too." The prince was entranced by the queen for a short while before he grew restless again. Finally, after the flypast ended, Kate said to her son, "Let's go it's finished now. That really was wonderful, so incredible," according to Sullivan.
A Twitter user summed up the moment. "Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are 3 different moods. Louis is a big mood," they wrote. Another tweet compiled all the faces Louis made and called the resulting meme the "PRINCE LOUIS MOOD SCALE."