LONDON | Whether he shows his boredom, protects his ears from the roar of planes or greets the crowd with a grimace, Prince Louis, 4, melted the public Thursday, during the jubilee of Elizabeth II.
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Prince William’s third child — himself a grandson of Elizabeth II and second in line to the throne — caused a stir on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where the royal family attended a aerial flight at the end of the Salute to the Colors parade.
Standing in a blue marinière (reminiscent of the one worn by her father in 1985) between the 96-year-old sovereign and her mother Kate, alongside her sister Charlotte, 7, and George, 8, Louis multiplied the facial expressions.
He rested his elbows on the railing, looking bored, plugged his ears, mouth wide open, squeezing a smile from his great-grandmother, very serious. His mother leaned over several times to whisper a few words in his ear.
His sister Charlotte was also hilarious, while the eldest, George, was more serious in his dark suit.
Earlier already, the passage of children on the Mall, the avenue leading to the palace, aboard a carriage with Kate and Camilla, Charles’s wife, had attracted attention. Charlotte grabbed Louis’ arm to stop him waving to the crowd.
These images are likely to reinforce the very positive image of the ideal family maintained by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. A few days before his 40th birthday, William is the most popular of the “royals” behind the queen, with 66% of favorable opinions according to the YouGov institute, followed by Kate (60%), source of unlimited admiration of the tabloids, and distancing his father Charles (50%).
Unceremoniously lending themselves to protocol obligations and charitable roles, seeking to appear as a “normal” family, while remaining discreet about their moods (unlike Prince Harry and his wife Meghan), they are now widely seen as embodying the future of the monarchy.
A rare misstep in their journey, the couple were heckled during a recent Caribbean tour, forced to cancel events due to protests and faced with demands for an apology for the monarchy’s slavery past.
