Prince Louis made his debut at this year's Trooping the Colour celebration, and he is already a pro at his royal wave!
The royal family attended the annual Trooping the Colour parade on June 8 at Buckingham Palace. One of the littlest royals was in attendance for the very first time: Prince Louis, the youngest son of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
At 1 year old, Prince Louis is finally old enough to attend the event. He turned 1 on April 23.
Kate and William's older children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were also at the parade.
Kate carried Louis out onto the balcony. He had a great time practicing his royal wave and watching the colorful festivities. He wore a blue-and-white collared outfit for the occasion (which happens to be a hand-me-down from a special family member).
Scroll down to see lots of photos of Prince Louis stealing the show at Trooping the Colour!
Every year, the British royals celebrate the Queen's official birthday with an elaborate parade called Trooping the Colour. The entire royal family attends, and 1,500 officers parade in front of the Queen for her inspection.
The royal family always stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the occasion — one of the few times that fans are guaranteed to see every member of the royal family together at the same time.
This year, there were a couple of special appearances.
Meghan Markle showed up to celebrate, even though she is technically on maternity leave after giving birth to baby Archie in May.
And Kate Middleton's youngest baby, Prince Louis, also made his Trooping the Colour debut.
Prince Louis was born just a few weeks before last year's Trooping the Colour, so this is his first time attending the event.
He wore an adorable blue-and-white outfit, similar to the outfit that his brother George wore for his own debut.
He waited inside Buckingham Palace for part of the event with his big sis, Princess Charlotte. He flashed a big smile and looked like he really wanted to get in on the action!
Out on the balcony, Prince Louis practiced his royal wave, watched the colorful flyover, and waved to some of his relatives, including his grandfather Prince Charles.
He kept Kate and William quite entertained throughout the show.
Kate and William have always waited until their children were at least 1 year old before taking them to this event. Prince Louis turned 1 on April 23, 2019.
Princess Charlotte was also just over 1 year old when she made her debut at Trooping the Colour. Prince George had to wait until he was almost 2, because he was too young the previous year.
That may also be why Meghan and Prince Harry didn't bring along their own little one. He's definitely too young for such a raucous public event!
Prince Louis was an immediate pro. At one point, he reached over for his dad to hold him for the rest of the event. The two clearly have a bond, and they look alike, too.
Prince Louis also resembled his Uncle Harry at the event — because he was wearing the exact same outfit.
Yep, Louis's blue-and-white ensemble is a hand-me-down that Harry wore at his own Trooping the Colour debut in 1986.
Though Louis apparently wanted to be in his dad's arms, Kate stayed on vigilant mommy duty. She's an expert at smoothly parenting her kids at these events by now.
At one point, Prince Louis put his thumb into his mouth to suck on it — a common behavior for kids his age. Kate Middleton gently removed his thumb from his mouth with a smile on her face.
Hopefully next year, we'll get to see baby Archie's debut at the celebration!
