King Charles's important instruction to Princess Charlotte at Trooping the Colour revealed by lip-reader
The young royal asked a key question on the Buckingham Palace balcony and her grandfather stepped in to guide her
The King’s birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, gives us a chance to see several generations of the Royal Family come together and His Majesty took the lead with his grandchildren. King Charles stood next to Princess Charlotte on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the traditional flypast and was observed giving her a discreet instruction during it.
The 11-year-old Princess was seen turning round when the Red Arrows flew overhead and according to lip-reader Jeremy Freeman, she asked if it was time to wave. The expert claimed to The Mirror that King Charles responded confidently, "Very good. Now we give a wave", seemingly to everyone around him including Charlotte.
He then emphasised his royal request, adding, "Wave to everyone. Cheerio. That’s right, thank you very much".
The Red Arrows' flight, known for delivering a magnificent display using red, blue and white smoke, marks the end of Trooping the Colour. The Royal Family usually give the cheering crowds outside the palace a final wave and then return inside out of view.
Since the Prince and Princess of Wales are very experienced and will have known when to wave, it seems that King Charles's instruction was more for the children's benefit, especially as Charlotte had specifically asked about the timings. Jeremy alleged that Louis also turned to Prince William afterwards and asked, "Is there more?"
The dad-of-three then apparently confirmed, "No, that's it. Go on wave, that's it" and we were treated to a final wave and very brief look-back from Charlotte before they disappeared inside. She might have wanted confirmation about when to wave, but the Princess knew her stuff.
King Charles's response proves that Charlotte's instincts were right and this is no surprise given how seriously she takes protocol. Throughout the balcony appearance she was standing straight and staring straight ahead, just like King Charles and Queen Camilla, whilst George and Louis were more chatty with their parents.
We've seen Charlotte telling off her younger brother before for dancing at Trooping the Colour as they waited to go on the balcony. Lip-reader Nicola Hickling claimed to The Mirror at the time that Charlotte said to him, "You have to stop doing that. Watch the parade".
Louis was seemingly unimpressed and responded bluntly, "I won't", leading his sister to quip, "Do as you're told". She often tries to keep Louis in line and The Sunday Times's Royal Editor Roya Nikkah has previously described the "power" the Princess has.
Speaking on The Royals podcast she explained, "When he first grew his beard, Princess Charlotte hated it so much, she burst into tears and he shaved it off. Which, I think tells you a lot, tells us a lot about how much power Charlotte wields in the royal household."
Assistant Royal Editor Kate Mansey added that it's the 11-year-old who's "calling the shots" in her family. When she was born, King Charles said at an engagement that he "was hoping for a granddaughter" and was "really rather thrilled" at the news.
