Get your popcorn and meme pitches ready, people. After some speculation, the British Army confirmed that they will have the Trooping the Colour this year on June, 15. The annual parade honors the monarch’s birthday and is always held in June — regardless of when their actual birthday is. (King Charles III’s is in November.) There were murmurs of possible cancellations given that the British royal family has decided to reduce their summer plans and engagements had of the country’s upcoming election in July, but Trooping the Colour did not get cut.
And we could not be more excited. Not because we’re dying to wish Charles a happy birthday five months early, but because members of the royal family gather on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a fly past by the Royal Air Force. And, in previous years, we’ve had the best time watching the youngest royal stand on the balcony with the worst poker face and (presumably) loudest screams. Like any good third child, Prince Louis is quite the wild card. Though he has ultra-sweet moments, he is also known for being adorably sassy and acting like any kid would, exasperated sighs and all.
As we count down the moments until Prince Louis is on the balcony again, here are the best photos of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s youngest son at past Trooping the Colours.
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Waving with Both Hands
Image Credit: Getty Images When Louis waves, he does it adorably with both hands!
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Uninterested!
Image Credit: Getty Images While papa Prince William is showign Prince Louis something, he looks so, hilariously uninterested!
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Confused Prince
Image Credit: GC Images During the Trooping the Colour carriage ride in 2024, Prince Louis looked so dang confused! Honestly, we get it kiddo!
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What Is That?!
Image Credit: Getty Images While Princess Charlotte of Wales was all smiles, Prince Louis of Wales was truly fasincated (and confused) by something he saw!
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Blast Off!
Image Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage This just might be the most iconic shot of Prince Louis from the 2023 Trooping the Colour — the first after King Charles III’s coronation. The little guy looks ready to take off with the Royal Air Force himself.
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Aye, Aye — I guess?
Image Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Prince Louis gave the most adorably unenthusiastic salute back to troops who must have been saluting him. The best part? He didn’t have to salute in the first place.
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Double Wave
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Based on the look on his face, we think Prince Louis is calculating whether he can cut his waving time in half if he uses both hands.
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Giving Up
Image Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Head in his hands, this is about as downtrodden as Prince Louis got at the 2023 Trooping the Colour. When the cutie really “shined” (in our eyes) was in 2022 when he was 4 and sixth in line to the throne.
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AHH-bsolutely not!
Image Credit: DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images What you probably remember best from the Trooping the Colour in 2022 was how Prince Louis covered his ears and screamed to drown out the noise of the planes flying by. And we don’t blame him!
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The Full Scene
Image Credit: DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images And yes, he did that with the late Queen Elizabeth II, his mom, and his siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince George right by his side — seemingly unbothered.
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Over It
Image Credit: UK Press via Getty Images The young royal was very quickly over it, and there are a hilarious amount of examples.
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So Done
Image Credit: Getty Images The little guy just wants to get out of there! What 4 year old wants to wave through all that pomp and circumstance?
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The Dramatics
Image Credit: Getty Images If the head in the hands didn’t convince his parents that he wanted to leave, maybe the pulling down of his face would…?
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Still There
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Sorry, bud. (Can I call a royal “bud?”) Looks like you’re stuck.
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Ignoring Mom
Image Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images At several points, Kate Middleton tried talking to her youngest — perhaps to cheer him up or get him to lay off the silly shenanigans — but he was not having it.
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Utter Disgust
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images We would pay so much money to know what inspired this look of disgust on Prince Louis’ face.
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Peek-a-Boo
Image Credit: MATT DUNHAM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Was Prince Louis supposed to take a peek at the crowd from that window? Hard to say, but it looks like Kate Middleton is right behind him — ready to prevent any problems.
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Stare Down
Image Credit: Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Image We have a mean-mugging royal (who also serves some serious side eye!) on our hands.
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Another Scolding
Image Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Louis, please don’t ever change. You might be royal, but your 4-year-old self did not give a sh*t about whether the world was watching while you stuck your pinkies in your mouth and made a funny face.
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“Seriously?”
Image Credit: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images “This thing is still going on?”
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“STILL?!”
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prince Louis was at his wits’ end.
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Another Nudge From Mom
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Kate Middleton was really working overtime trying to make this event fun for her little guy.
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When Will It End?!
Image Credit: WireImage And this, dear readers, was the moment Prince Louis just gave up.
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Cool Guy
Image Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage Looks like he’s trying out that double wave strategy again.
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Adorably Annoyed
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images All the way back in 2019, when Prince Louis was just over a year old, he was already adorably annoyed at the prospect of having to participate in Trooping the Colour.
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Equal Opportunity Hater
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prince Louis didn’t just save his wrath for when he was staring at photographers — he also was seriously grumpy when looking at his great-granny.
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Getting Warmer
Image Credit: Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage And the fury only intensified.
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Look Back At It
Image Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage And even when he switched into the arms of his dad Prince William, Prince Louis was still giving the crowd a sassy stare down.
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Woah!
Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images It’s hard to know what was going through baby Louis’ mind (I guess the same is still true…), but I like to think that this is a photo of him being more impressed by and excited by tapping on the window than the crowds behind it. Or perhaps he was practicing his infamous scream.
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