Thirty of the Queen and Her Family's Most Glorious Palace Balcony Moments

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James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family and royal fashion. He has covered contemporary and historic issues facing King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana. James joined Newsweek in 2022 having previously contributed to titles such as The Lady, Majesty Magazine and Drapers. He also spent a number of years working with the curatorial department at Historic Royal Palaces, based at Kensington Palace, and contributed to the exhibitions Fashion Rules: Restyled (2016) and Diana: Her Fashion Story (2017). He also undertook private research projects with the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. He is a graduate of University College London and Central Saint Martins, where he studied fashion history. Languages: English.

You can get in touch with James by emailing j.crawfordsmith@newsweek.com.

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The Buckingham Palace balcony has become an iconic central focal point of British culture with some of the nation's biggest moments from the end of World War II, to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton all being celebrated from its carved stone confines.

The palace balcony did not exist until 1850 when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's building plans to add an east wing to Buckingham Palace were completed. Before this, the palace had been formed of three wings with an open courtyard.

Prince Albert instructed architect Edward Blore to design the new facade which was completely redeveloped in 1913 on the command of King George V.

Before the end of her life, Queen Victoria made several balcony appearances where huge crowds would gather to catch a glimpse of the monarch. Successive kings and queens have all followed her lead, none so more frequently than her great-great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

In the current reign, the Buckingham Palace balcony has continued to be a central point for royal events such as weddings and jubilees with the traditional Trooping of the Colour balcony appearance taking place annually each June.

The queen, along with Princess Diana, Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have all created memorable moments on the palace balcony over the past 70 years with royal family history able to be charted through images from each historic occasion.

This year, 2022 marks Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee and following a special Trooping of the Colour ceremony on June 2, the royals will take to the balcony once more for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020.

A statement from Buckingham Palace announced last week that the number of royals on the balcony for the occasion was being reduced, with only those who perform official duties invited to make an appearance.

Here, Newsweek looks at 40 of the queen and her family's most glorious palace balcony moments:

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Buckingham Palace Balcony Moments Meghan Kate Queen
Ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Newsweek looks at thirty of the monarch and royal family's most glorious palace balcony moments. Chris Jackson/Max Mumby/ Chris Furlong/Getty Images
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About the writer

James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family and royal fashion. He has covered contemporary and historic issues facing King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana. James joined Newsweek in 2022 having previously contributed to titles such as The Lady, Majesty Magazine and Drapers. He also spent a number of years working with the curatorial department at Historic Royal Palaces, based at Kensington Palace, and contributed to the exhibitions Fashion Rules: Restyled (2016) and Diana: Her Fashion Story (2017). He also undertook private research projects with the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. He is a graduate of University College London and Central Saint Martins, where he studied fashion history. Languages: English.

You can get in touch with James by emailing j.crawfordsmith@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more