Prince Louis steals the show on the Platinum Jubilee balcony
Prince Louis proved the unexpected star of the show on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour.
The young prince jumped up and down with excitement, covered his ears from the flypast noise and nattered to his great-grandmother, the Queen, oblivious to the millions of people watching.
Prince Louis, four, put on an exuberant performance for the first event of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, and was photographed with an array of exaggerated funny faces.
While it is not his debut appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the annual flypast, it is the first time he has been old enough to appreciate the occasion, with vast crowds below him and the might of the Royal Air Force above.
He joined his excited siblings Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince George, eight, who took things rather more in their stride.
The Queen, of course, took centre stage on the balcony, for the celebration of her 70 years on the throne.
She had already ruled that only working members of the Royal family would appear on the balcony this year, with exceptions made for the Cambridge and Wessex children to join their parents.
As the families walked on to the balcony, they shuffled into position so each could see and be seen.
By chance or design, the Queen ended up flanked by the Prince of Wales on one side, and Prince Louis on the other, looking momentarily a little perplexed at her young companion.
As the Duchess of Cambridge tried valiantly to keep her youngest son focused on the skies, he clamped his hands over his ears to block out the noise and put his elbow on the balcony with his chin in his hands.
But as the excitement of the flypast built, he jumped up and down on the spot, exclaiming about the helicopters and planes to the Queen, Prince Charles, his mother, and anyone else who would listen.
At one point, both he and the Duchess let out a loud "wow".
The Queen appeared charmed, while the Duchess echoed any mother at a high-pressure family occasion, eyeing her youngest in part-indulgence, part-determination to ensure he behaved himself.
At the all-important moment of the national anthem, Prince George and Princess Charlotte stood in perfect politeness, arms by their sides, with Prince Louis joining them faultlessly to begin with before becoming a little distracted.
As they left the balcony to retire inside the palace for lunch, the children all gave a final wave to the crowds who cheered from outside the gates.
Earlier in the day, the three young Cambridge children had made their first Trooping the Colour journey by carriage to and from Horse Guards Parade.
They joined their cousins to watch the parade from a window in the Major General's Office.
Prince Louis was seen saluting the troops below him, while Princess Charlotte was seen engrossed in a hand-clapping game with Mia Tindall.
Their high-jinks have become part of the annual Trooping the Colour event, entertaining viewers around the world with their clear friendship.
The majority of the royal cousins are close, with the young Tindalls, Phillips and Cambridges regularly photographed together.
