Surprise! Prince George and Princess Charlotte Join Their Parents in Wales

Prince George Princess Charlotte Kate Middleton Prince William — (Image credit: Getty Images)

We’ve long known the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would be in Wales today as part of the ongoing Platinum Jubilee celebrations—but they brought two surprise guests along with them!

Prince George and Princess Charlotte delighted crowds when they appeared alongside their parents at Cardiff Castle today. (The Cambridges’ youngest, Prince Louis, stayed at home.) The foursome wore a patriotic red, white, and blue color palette, Kate in a custom red coat by Eponine London, Charlotte in a double-breasted Amaia blue coat, and William and George in navy trousers and jackets.

PEOPLE reports “the day is especially poignant for eight-year-old George, whose visit mirrors his father’s first official trip to Wales when he was the same age. Back in March 1991, he joined his mother Princess Diana and father Prince Charles in Cardiff.” (Both William and, later, George will be the Prince of Wales someday before becoming king.)

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While in Wales, the Cambridges met performers, including joining an orchestra on stage. “The live music entertainment will be especially fun for George,” PEOPLE writes. “Kate previously revealed that the young prince is learning to play the guitar.”

The family met with well-wishers assembled before heading back to London, where both William and Charles will pay tribute to Her Majesty at tonight’s Platinum Party at the Palace. The Queen will watch the concert at home at Windsor Castle, after missing the Derby at Epsom Downs today. (Princess Anne attended in her place.)

The Cambridges’ visit to Wales is but one of many across the U.K. being undertaken by members of the royal family this weekend on behalf of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Yesterday, Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, visited Scotland, and Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are visiting Northern Ireland.

And, though the Cambridges were in Wales, they weren’t too busy to wish baby Lili a happy first birthday on social media, as did Charles and Camilla.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.