Excited Louis takes tumble and gets up to mischief during Trooping the Colour parade

Adorable Prince Louis slipped as he waited on the steps outside Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Colour to begin and has continued to get into mischief today.

The youngest of Prince William and Princess Kate’s children was captured taking a little tumble as he stood alongside his mum and siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte before the military parade began. Footage of his reflection in the glass windows ahead of the event showed him innocently tripping on a step in the rain.

Louis, six, appeared to be standing beside his sister Charlotte, nine, as the horse and carriage approached the Royal Family. A fan spotted the slip-up and took to X, formerly Twitter, to comment. They shared: “Notice how little Louis slipped for a second”, while another fan commented: “Wonderful to see our beautiful future queen and her family.”

But that wasn’t the only time the young prince caused a stir as he was captured getting distracted during the ceremony on the balcony. Louis appeared to cheekily tug on the blind cords as his mum Kate stood close to him, watching his every move. In his typical style, instead of looking out at the crowds, he pulled on the white cord at the window.

Continuing with his antic, he tried to lift the huge white window of the office as the Duchess of Edinburgh looked on. Louis clenched his teeth and used both hands in an attempt to push the window up, as he was eager to look out over the balcony.

And shortly after, Louis was seen yawning while standing watching the parade from the window at the Duke of Wellington’s former office. The little prince lifted his head back, with his hands behind his back, as he had a big yawn while his sister politely observed the event. But determined not to fall asleep, he danced his way through the show.

Louis jigged his hips from side to side and grinned as his mum Kate laughed behind him and Charlotte appeared slightly annoyed and muttered something to him. The BBC commentator chuckled as the comical moment aired live on television: “He’s enjoying boogieing along to that.”

The young royal has been delighting the crowds at Trooping the Colour since 2022, when he famously chatted to the late Queen and covered his ears as the planes roared overhead, resulting in some heartwarming pictures. He also stole the show at the Coronation and Trooping the Colour last year when he was seen thoroughly enjoying the crowds and planes.

It is the trio’s first major royal appearance of the year at their grandfather King Charles’ official birthday parade today. Charlotte beamed as she wore a navy dress with a white bow, with her hair tied back away from her face. Little Louis was dressed in a navy blazer, white shirt and blue tie as he took in the magnificent sights and sat beside his mum.

Their outing marks a welcome return to the royal spotlight as the siblings were last seen together in public on Christmas Day with the rest of the Royal Family at Sandringham before Kate was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery. It was announced yesterday that Kate would be attending the celebration of the King’s official birthday with her family.

In a statement released by the Palace, Kate said she has “good days and bad days” amid her preventative chemotherapy treatment. The Princess added that she “hopes to join a few public engagements over the summer” as she continues treatment for cancer “for a few months”.

Since Kate announced her cancer diagnosis in March, the Waleses have been keen to keep to their normal routine. Eldest child George, aged 10, has been seen out with William several times, most notably at the FA Cup final last month. During his visit to see Gareth Southgate’s men before they left for Germany, William also got the opportunity to give the players a pep talk and he shared Louis’ words of wisdom for them.

He said: “Guys, while I was on the way here, I was thinking what shall I say. And I thought what can I offer as you are all an experienced team here with Gareth and I was thinking what could I say to help before you went away?

“And I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘what shall I say to the England team today’. The best bit of advice I got was to eat twice the amount you would normally eat. And I now have visions of all of you running around with massive tummies and getting stitches on the pitch. So I think take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt!”

The Princess did not attend the Colonel’s Review on June 8 – the traditional rehearsal for the birthday parade. Kate, who is the honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards, had written to them to apologise for missing it and wishing them luck.

The letter on Kensington Palace headed paper and shared on the Irish Guards account on X, said: “I wanted to write to let you know how proud I am of the entire regiment ahead of the Colonel’s Review and Trooping the Colour. I appreciate everyone Trooping this year has been practising for months, and dedicating many hours to ensure their uniforms and drill are immaculate.

“Being your Colonel remains a great honour, and I am very sorry that I am unable to take the salute at this year’s Colonel Review. Please pass my apologies to the whole Regiment, however, I do hope I can represent you all again soon. Please send my very best wishes and good luck to all involved.” Kate finished the letter by handwriting the Irish Guards’ motto Quis Separabit, which means ‘Who shall separate us?’ and signed it ‘Colonel Catherine’.

Trooping the Colour is held every year as an official birthday event for the monarch, even though Charles’ actual birthday is November 14. Royal sources said other members of the Royal Family were expected to attend in line with last year, where only working members of the family were present.