King Charles was seen directing an unsure Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on the Buckingham Palace balcony today. The monarch is marking his official birthday, commemorated by the annual Trooping the Colour parade in central London. Senior royals including the King and Queen, Princess Catherine, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Princess Anne were all present to observe the iconic flypast above the Palace.

Yet it seems the younger royals appeared somewhat uncertain regarding the appropriate protocol while on the balcony. Lip reader Jeremy Freeman exclusively told us just as the Red Arrows passed overhead, signalling the conclusion of the occasion. According to Jeremy, Princess Charlotte was seen turning round and asking: "Time to wave?" Charles then responded, seemingly addressing everyone, by saying: "Very good. Now we give a wave."

Emphasising his instruction, he added: "Wave to everyone. Cheerio. That's right, thank you very much."

Louis was subsequently observed turning to his father William and enquiring: "Is there more?" The second-in-line to the throne reinforced his own father's instruction by responding: "No, that's it. Go on wave, that's it."

It wasn't the only significant exchange captured by lip readers during today's Trooping. Jeremy noted one conversation between Louis and Kate that seemingly demonstrated he had been taking lessons from his brother Prince George.

Meanwhile, a body language expert suggested the balcony appearance revealed the royals were "divided". Judi James told the Mirror: "The newly-pared down royal firm we saw on the balcony showed two family 'teams' or units: On one side we had the solid, dependable and unproblematic royal 'rocks' in the shape of Edward, Sophie, Tim and Anne and on the other side of the balcony the tightly-choreographed, immaculately stylish and elegant Wales's.

"With no Beatrice or Eugenie, the face of the Firm looked emphatic and undiluted. There was even The Duke of Kent there to symbolise the generation before and maybe show the resilience and stoicism of that generation as he is still working in his nineties."

One royal who was, predictably, nowhere to be found was the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Just hours before proceedings got underway, he was photographed sporting a mysterious bruised face while still loitering nearby.