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Prince William is the subject of a new TikTok viral video showing crowds reacting to his appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.
William has seen his role within the monarchy grow over the past year, with his elevation to the senior title of Prince of Wales following the death of Queen Elizabeth last September. Over the past 12 months, a number of social media posts and videos from throughout the prince's life have reached viral numbers, including footage from before his marriage to Kate Middleton, which took place in April 2011.
Uploaded to TikTok by user, _queencore_, on August 28, an edited clip of footage taken from Queen Elizabeth's celebrations of 50 years on the throne has been viewed over 100,000 times so far.
Following a jubilee pageant through London to mark the occasion, the queen, Prince Philip and members of the royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a flypast.
After the queen made her initial appearance, William joined his grandmother with other younger members of the royal family. Shown in the TikTok clip, William's entrance onto the balcony was met with a wave of increased screams and cheers, as he was among the most popular royals at the time.
The prince was also considered by many to be the most eligible bachelor in the world at the time, his relationship with Kate Middleton not yet being formalized.
The TikTok video highlights Prince Philip's reaction to his grandson's reception on the balcony, captioned: "Proud grandpa 🙌🏻🙌🏻."
The post has received in excess of 16,000 likes and numerous comments, many of which have praised William.
"Prince William is so handsome😍," posted one TikTok user.
"Phillip looked so proud," wrote another, with a further comment noting of William: "HE WAS BLUSHING 😭."
This time period in the young prince's life is expected to be covered in the upcoming final season of Netflix's hit royal drama The Crown, which ends its six season run this winter.
The season introduces actor Ed McVey, who will play William in his late teens and early 20s, and the show will cover events in the life of Queen Elizabeth and her family from 1997 to 2005.
The sixth season will introduce for the first time the character of Kate Middleton (now the Princess of Wales) who is played by actress Meg Bellamy. It's expected to chart the early years of the couple's romance.
William and Kate met while studying together at St Andrew's university in Scotland in 2001. Soon after they began a romantic relationship, which spanned nine years before the prince proposed with an engagement ring that had formerly belonged to his mother, Princess Diana.
The couple married at Westminster Abbey in 2011 and have three children: Prince George, born in 2013; Princess Charlotte, born in 2015; and Prince Louis, born in 2018.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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 ... Read more