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The Kents

The Duchess of Kent makes a welcome appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

The Duchess of Kent made a rare but welcome appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace this afternoon for The Queen’s Birthday Parade.

Trooping the Colour is usually the only time we see the Duchess in public since she retired from public life a few years ago.

Each year, she usually appears on the balcony to watch the RAF flypast, but often remains at the back behind the other members of The Royal Family.

However, this year she stood at the front and was able to get one of the best views of the flypast and of the thousands of people on The Mall.

The Duchess of Kent was surrounded by her family on the balcony. Just behind her was her husband, the Duke of Kent and their son, the Earl of St Andrews.

On her right was Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor and Lord Frederick’s parents, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Towards her left was the Duke of Gloucester and his grandchildren, Xan Windsor and Lady Cosima Windsor.

The Duchess of Kent last appeared at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May. Before that, it had been many months since we last saw her.