Kate Middleton’s remark to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis on the Buckingham Palace balcony as they waited for iconic moment

Each year there are only a handful of occasions where we get to see Prince George, Charlotte and Louis out with the older royals.

Prince George of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales watch the fly-past on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
(Image credit: Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

One of the most special of all these occasions is Trooping the Colour, which includes the traditional Buckingham Palace balcony appearance. This allows us to witness a lot of sweet or cheeky interactions between the Wales kids that we wouldn’t ordinarily see.

I’m sure that the 2025 event will be no different, but ahead of this we were treated to another balcony appearance. On 5th May, Prince and Princess of Wales and all three of their children attended a procession in honour of the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Afterwards they watched a flypast at the palace and if you were wondering what Kate said to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis, there might now be an answer. Opening up to Hello!, lip reader Nicola Hickling has suggested that she was guiding them on when and where to look.

Prince George, Prince Louis, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 5, 2025

(Image credit: Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

According to her, the future Queen allegedly told seven-year-old Prince Louis, "When the flypast comes, you will see it smoke blue, white and red."

The Princess of Wales is then said to have gestured, "Eyes to the sky" to her children to ensure they were looking the right way and that they didn’t miss a moment of the RAF flypast.

Prince Louis was apparently more than happy to follow his mum’s instructions and pointed upwards at one of them, saying "they have lots of tanks".

If this was what Kate was saying to Prince Louis and his older siblings, it’s incredibly sweet and also reminded them to face forwards and focus on the impressive display by the RAF like the adult royals always do.

Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte gaze at the sky, watched by the Princess of Wales, as they view the fly-past on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

(Image credit: Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

It’s not the only thing that lipreader Nicola picked up, though. Watching the Wales family during the flypast, she identified not only Kate’s guiding words but Prince George and Louis seemingly playing a game of ‘guess the aircraft" with their parents.

Nicola claimed to the publication that the Princess of Wales at one point asked her eldest, "What is this, George" and he is said to have replied uncertainly, "Err that's erm a… I can't see it yet."

Eager to give his own verdict, Prince Louis then reportedly added, "It's my turn."

It’s clear Prince William’s knowledge of planes has been passed to his children, as Prince George later recognised an Atlas aircraft.

Queen Camilla, Prince William and Prince George of Wales watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 5, 2025

(Image credit: Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Nicola alleged that the Prince of Wales told Queen Camilla, who seemed to be involved in the game - but wasn’t quite as successful.

Prince William apparently said to her, "It's the wrong answer", but Queen Camilla took it in her stride as she replied, "Are we playing this still? I need to try harder."

Although Nicola’s suggestions haven’t been confirmed, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Waleses were putting their aircraft expertise to the test. They might be young, but Prince George in particular has loved planes from a young age.

Prince George waves from the cockpit of a plane as he attends the The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford on July 8, 2016

(Image credit: Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty)

As per Us Weekly, back in 2016, Kate reportedly opened up during a visit to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets and shared that her eldest son was "obsessed with the air cadets and wants to join".

A few years later in 2021, the Princess of Wales supposedly described all her children as being "interested in aircraft" at the RAF Brize Norton airbase. Given how long their father served in the air force, it makes sense that Prince George, Charlotte and Louis would know a thing or two about different aircrafts.

Emma is a Royal Editor with eight years experience working in publishing. She specialises in the British Royal Family, ranging from protocol to outfits. Alongside putting her royal knowledge to good use, Emma knows all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV and more. When she’s not writing about the latest royal outing or unmissable show to add to your to-watch list, Emma enjoys cooking, long walks and watching yet more crime dramas!