The Queen Makes First Appearance on Buckingham Palace Balcony at Trooping the Colour

(Image credit: Chris Jackson for Getty Images)

published 2 June 2022

There she is!

The woman of the hour—or, shall we say, the four-day weekend, if not the year—Queen Elizabeth took to the Buckingham Palace balcony this morning to cheering crowds celebrating her historic 70 years on the throne.

Today, June 2, also marks the 69th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, held on this day in 1953.

Her Majesty wore a pale blue coatdress, an outfit that appears identical to the one she sported in her official portrait marking the Platinum Jubilee. For the balcony appearance, she also added a matching hat and gloves. The portrait, shot by Ranald Mackechnie, was taken at Windsor Castle last week and is much more understated than past Jubilee portraits—for her Silver Jubilee, Her Majesty wore the Imperial State Crown, and for her Golden and Diamond Jubilees, she wore tiaras, her royal sash, and medals. She was joined on the balcony by her cousin Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

The Buckingham Palace balcony appearance followed the Trooping the Colour parade, the annual public celebration of Her Majesty’s birthday (though her actual birthday is in April). Expected to join her on the balcony shortly are son Prince Charles, who took the salute in his mother’s honor on horseback this morning during Trooping the Colour; Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William, who, along with his father and aunt Princess Anne, also rode on horseback in the parade this morning; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wearing a white Alexander McQueen dress and white and blue Philip Treacy hat; the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis; and other working members of the royal family.

Today marks a hearty and deserved celebration after a frightening event for Her Majesty this week—returning from a short stay at Balmoral prior to the Platinum Jubilee, the Queen’s flight was forced to delay its landing due to a lightning storm, PEOPLE reports. The pilot of the Queen’s 13-seater plane was forced to abort the initial landing just seconds before it touched down because of lightning, heavy rain, and hail; the pilot’s second attempt to land was successful when the weather cleared. Of the event, Buckingham Palace said “The Queen’s flight was delayed due to a lightning storm. All the correct procedures were followed and there were no safety concerns.”

We’ll be back shortly with a recap of the entire family joining Her Majesty on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

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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.

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