Who made the cut (and who is missing) as slimmed-down Royal Family appear on balcony at Trooping the Colour

King Charles opted for a slimmed-down showing of royals on the balcony for his first Trooping the Colour ceremony as monarch.

Just a dozen members of the royal family were present to wave to the crowds at Buckingham Palace and watch the Red Arrows fly past – a far smaller headcount than the crowded balcony seen for the event under the late Queen.

Among those not present were Harry and Meghan, after their much-publicised fallout with their family, and Prince Andrew, who is no longer a working royal and has been stripped of his titles over his friendship with the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The King’s nieces and nephews were shut out, including Prince Andrew’s children Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – who have appeared in the past but were excluded from proceedings as they are also not working royals.

The late Queen’s cousins the Duke of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, who are working royals but are far from the line of succession, appeared on the balcony but stood apart from the ‘core’ group of royals for the highly-coordinated photo opportunity.

Princess Alexandra, 86, who is officially a working royal, did not appear.

The omissions led to what some described as a ‘sparse’ turnout on the balcony.

“I do have to say, I miss seeing the broader family on the balcony,” wrote Brittany, the editor of Royal News Network.

“Charles could have at least included his nieces and nephews and their children, and excluded the broader Kent and Gloucester clans. It looks a bit sparse up there, and it’s just gonna get smaller.”

In previous years, the late Queen Elizabeth II was joined by as many as 30 members of the royal family.

Who is in

King Charles III

Queen Camilla

Prince of Wales (Prince William) and his wife the Princess of Wales (Kate Middleton)

Prince William’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

The King’s sister, the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence

The King’s brother, the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Edward) and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

The late Queen’s cousin Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and his wife Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester

The late Queen’s Prince Edward, Duke of Kent

Who was missing

The King’s second son, the Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry) and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Prince Harry’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet

The Duke of York (Prince Andrew)

Prince Andrew’s children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and his grandchildren

Princess Anne’s children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, and her grandchildren

Prince Edward’s children, James, Earl of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor

The late Queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra

The Duke of Gloucester’s children

The Duke of Kent’s children

Royal commentator Robert Hardman suggested that one reason for the reduced balcony turnout could be renovation works at the palace, telling the BBC: “One of the reasons it’s a slightly reduced family party is Buckingham Palace is very much a building site, and behind those windows, a lot of that is under refurbishment. There isn’t the great scope for a large family gathering there.”

However, King Charles is known to favour a slimmed-down and cheaper royal family going forward – with the palace shifting its PR efforts towards promoting those in the immediate line of succession.

The Trooping the Colour marked another turning of the page, with the King becoming the first monarch in 30 years to attend on horseback.

He was joined on by the royal colonels – the Prince of Wales, Colonel, Welsh Guards; the Princess Royal, Gold Stick in Waiting and Colonel of The Blues and Royals; and the Duke of Edinburgh, riding for the first time in his role as Colonel of the 1st Battalion London Guards, formed last year.

Travelling in a carriage were the Queen, who is Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and the Princess of Wales as Colonel of the Irish Guards, along with Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis.

The royal party were in the midst of a sovereign’s mounted escort, formed by troops from the Household Cavalry’s Life Guards and Blues and Royals, in their shining breastplates and plumed helmets, and a ripple of cheers followed them when they travelled along The Mall.

Soon after the King arrived on the parade ground the national anthem was played as a mark of respect and Charles had to steady his horse but it would not settle and a groom stepped forward to help.

The King began the ceremony by inspecting the lines of guardsmen on the parade ground, casting a critical eye over the soldiers, formed in two lines, as he rode past.

William, Anne, and Edward rode behind Charles while Camilla and Kate were in a carriage – a symbolic image of the royal family supporting their King as another milestone was reached.

The Queen and the princess wore contrasting outfits, with Camilla in a red silk dress that took inspiration from her regiment, the Grenadier Guards, while Kate was in a striking green dress by Andrew Gn and matching hat by Philip Treacy in honour of her Irish Guards.

The pair later took their seats on a dais with the Duke of Kent, Colonel, Scots Guards, to watch the march past of the troops – a first for the royal women – while the King and the other royal colonels remained on horseback alongside.

The sight of a monarch riding throughout Trooping the Colour had not happened since 1986 when the Queen rode her charger Burmese for the final time.

It was a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Charles’ horse Noble was also from the Commonwealth country’s famous Mounties.

Trooping the Colour is a social as well as a ceremonial occasion and in the stands overlooking the parade ground were around 8,000 wives, girlfriends and parents of the guardsmen and officers on parade.

The event featured around 1,500 soldiers in total and hundreds of Guardsmen were lined up on the parade ground waiting to be inspected by King, who will be joined by the mounted royal Colonels, including the Queen and Kate in a carriage.

For the first time since 1989, all five regiments of Foot Guards – the Welsh, Scots, Irish, Coldstream and Grenadier – were on parade together for the event.

The colour, or regimental flag, that will be trooped in front of hundreds of Guardsmen and officers will be the King’s Colour of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

The colour was first trooped through the ranks of soldiers before the guardsmen marched past the King, first in slow then in quick time, with the King acknowledging the command of “eyes right” with a salute.

The massed bands of the Household Division and the Mounted Band of the Household Calvary provided the musical backing for the ceremony.

Also taking part was the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, who will fire a 41-gun salute in Green Park to mark the King’s official birthday, while a further 62 volleys will be fired from the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.