Prince William ‘scolded’ by late Queen during Trooping the Colour balcony incident
Prince William was given a stern telling-off by the late Queen Elizabeth II during the 2016 Trooping the Colour, after he disappeared from the crowd’s view
The late Queen and Prince William on the Buckingham Palace balcony(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Trooping the Colour is almost here, with Buckingham Palace and the Royal Family gearing up to mark the King’s official birthday. During the occasion, which stands as a milestone in the royal calendar, the family gather on the iconic Buckingham Palace balcony to witness the Royal Air Force flypast.
While this part of the day’s festivities is frequently the most unforgettable, it doesn’t always run without a hitch for the royals. Several years back, in 2016, one member of the Royal Family was ‘scolded’ by the late Queen for an unforeseen reason. Prince William appeared to irritate his late grandmother while standing on the balcony during the flypast, prompting a firm word from the monarch.
The late Queen scolded Prince William during Trooping the Colour in 2016(Image: Getty Images)
As Princess Charlotte, who was making her Trooping the Colour debut shortly after her first birthday, was being cradled by Kate, young Prince George was under William’s care.
Positioned at the front of the balcony, George – who was merely three years old at the time – gazed over the edge to wave at the thousands of spectators assembled around the Palace. As William knelt down to chat with his young son and explain the flypast, he was momentarily hidden from view of the enormous crowd of onlookers.
The Queen was evidently displeased that the crowds wouldn’t have been able to spot him. Her Majesty seemed to chastise her grandson by saying: “stand up William. Don’t crouch.”
Naturally, the prince complied straight away and stood up immediately, appearing rather embarrassed. The reprimand during the flypast was not the first time the monarch had put her foot down with her grandson, as William revealed in a Sky News documentary marking the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016.
The late Queen told William to “stand up”(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
On that occasion, the Prince of Wales spoke openly about a childhood incident that landed him in hot water with his grandmother, when he and his cousin Peter Phillips were caught causing mischief while riding a quad bike at Balmoral.
He said: “We were chasing Zara around who was on a go-kart, and Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost and the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her.
“I remember my grandmother being the first person out at Balmoral running across the lawn in her kilt. She came charging over and gave us the most almighty b******ing, and that sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on.”
2016 was Princess Charlotte’s Trooping the Colour debut(Image: Getty Images)
As heir to the throne, William made his Trooping the Colour balcony debut before his first birthday in 1984. In 2011, as a newlywed, William took part in his first Trooping the Colour parade and rode on horseback, something he is expected to do once again this year.
The Trooping the Colour ceremony, held annually each June, has been a tradition to mark the sovereign’s official birthday since King George IV’s accession in 1820, with the exception of the world wars and a national strike in 1955. In 2020, a scaled-down version of the celebrations took place at Windsor Castle owing to the Covid pandemic. Trooping the Colour 2026, officially known as The King’s Birthday Parade, is set to take place on Saturday June 13 in London.
