Queen flanked by heirs as she makes final jubilee appearance

The Queen was flanked by the three heirs to the throne as she made her final appearance during the platinum jubilee.

Making a surprise appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the platinum pageant, Her Majesty stood between Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George, who are first, second and third in line to the throne respectively.

The Queen saw a much smaller group of family members join her on the balcony on Sunday, compared with the Trooping the Colour parade on Thursday.

Sunday saw the Queen joined by just Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, along with William, the Duchess of Cambridge, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

In a sweet moment between George and the monarch, the Prince gave his great-grandmother an adoring look and she looked out to the crowd stretching along The Mall.

It was only the third appearance by the Queen across the platinum jubilee weekend, after she pulled out of the Service of Thanksgiving on Friday and the Epsom Derby on Saturday.

Social media users said the moment the Queen appeared with her three heirs made them “emotional”, with one user writing: “When the Queen came onto the balcony with her three heirs and the crowd erupted… so emotional. We’ll never see this again in our lifetime, if ever.”

Another added: “So special to see the direct heirs and reigning monarch on the balcony to mark the end of an amazing #PlatinumJubilee.”

A third said: “The most wonderful sight today. HM The Queen with her heirs and successors. I have tears of immense pride and joy running down my face.”

On Thursday, following the Trooping the Colour parade, the Queen made two separate balcony appearances. One to observed the salute, and the other to watch the RAF flypast.