Happy Birthday Ma'am! Queen Joins The Party

Princess Charlotte has made her first appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace as the Queen continued her 90th birthday celebrations.

Charlotte, now 13 months old and wearing a pink dress, was carried onto the balcony by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge.

They joined other members of the Royal Family to watch an RAF flypast after Trooping the Colour.

Also there was Charlotte's two-year-old brother, Prince George, who shielded his eyes as he looked up at the sky.

The flypast was preceded by a 41-gun salute in nearby Green Park performed by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

The events were part of a weekend of celebrations to mark the Queen's 90th on 21 April.

Her Majesty, wearing a vivid lime green matching hat and jacket, and the Duke of Edinburgh travelled to Horse Guards in a vintage carriage.

Huge crowds lined The Mall to watch the procession and cheered loudly as they passed by.

The Prince of Wales, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, made their way on horseback.

Carriages took other members of the Royal Family to the ceremony.

They included the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Kate was wearing an Alexander McQueen coat and hat by Philip Treacy while Harry was dressed in his military uniform.

They all watched the annual parade from the Duke of Wellington's old office overlooking Horse Guards and directly behind the Queen's dais.

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Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha had made the short trip from nearby Downing Street to join the spectators.

The royals were accompanied to Horse Guards by a Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry, made up of Life Guards and Blues and Royals, in their silver and gold breastplates and plumed helmets.

The Massed Bands of the Household Division and the Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry also took part in the ceremony, along with the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

The Head of the British Military, speaking exclusively to Sky News, said Trooping the Colour is a unique event.

"I invite many of my international opposite numbers to come along to bear witness to Trooping of the Colour and they are blown away," General Sir Nick Houghton said.

"It's not something that can be emulated anywhere else that I know in the world. It is the Tina Turner if you like, Simply The Best."

After the Queen took the royal salute, the Royal Family headed back along the Mall to Buckingham Palace to watch the flypast.

Among the 29 aircraft involved were a Spitfire and Hurricane from the Battle of Britain and a multi-role Typhoon fighter. The Red Arrows provided the finale.

Elsewhere, the Royal Rowbarge Gloriana, the star of the river pageant in 2012, lead a flotilla of 50 vessels, including Dunkirk “Little Ships”, down the Thames from Parliament to Tower Bridge.

In honour of the royal birthday pubs will be able to stay open for an extra two hours on Saturday night.

On Friday, the Queen attended a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral together with members of her family, politicians and well-known public figures.

On Sunday, 10,000 people will join her at The Patron's Lunch on The Mall and street parties will be held up and down the country.