The Princess of Wales on the balcony at Buckingham Palace was a sight to lift the spirits of every royalist. There was, however, something about that balcony scene after Trooping the Colour last Saturday that left me feeling uneasy.
At the weekend, though, the junior royals were asked not to join the more senior members of 'The Firm' on the balcony. The Duke of Kent was therefore left looking lonely without his wife or children. His sister, Princess Alexandra, was too frail to join him even though she is still considered a 'working royal'.
When I later spoke to the friend of Prince William, I had hoped that he would bring news of a change to this uninspiring policy.The friend said William was in 'full agreement' with his father about the need for a 'slimmed-down monarchy'. 'That is what William wants,' the source claims. 'He sees the small European monarchies as the model for the future.'
That was made clear at Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 when, after encouragement by the then Prince Charles, the monarch allowed only him, Camilla, William, Catherine and Harry to watch the fly-past from the balcony. It was meant as a symbolic display of the future of the monarchy.