Prince George makes first appearance on Buckingham Palace balcony

Prince George has made his first appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

The 23-month-old prince was carried by his father, the Duke of Cambridge, as members of the royal family presented themselves to the public to mark the Queen’s official birthday celebrations.

The royal family watched a flypast by the RAF’s Red Arrows for the conclusion of the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday.

George was dressed in a sky blue outfit that mimicked clothes worn by his father on William’s own balcony debut in 1984. The Duchess of Cambridge also appeared in public for the first time since the birth of her daughter, Princess Charlotte, in May.

The Queen’s official birthday is celebrated on the second Saturday in June, when the the weather is hoped to be better, although she turned 89 on 21 April.

She was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and David and Samantha Cameron at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, central London, for the three-hour parade by soldiers from the Household Division.

The Queen inspected 1,100 soldiers for the ceremony, which was originally a way of preparing regiments for battle.

Flags – known in the British Army as “colours” – were carried or “trooped” by each rank so that soldiers would recognise them in battle.

The colour being paraded on Horse Guards this year was the flag of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

The parade was followed by a 41-gun salute in Green Park, and ended with the flypast by the Red Arrows.