Unmissable monarch at Trooping the Colour

This was an unmissable monarch - wearing, as she was, a vibrant, lime green coat - at an annual occasion she's never missed - an occasion where the dominant colour is usually the scarlet of the ceremonial soldiers' tunics.

The guardsmen performing for their colonel in chief on the parade ground were fighting soldiers.

Centuries ago, the colour or flag was a rallying point on the battlefield.

It's now a symbolic affair. Today, it was held in honour of the Queen who inspected her troops - as Queen Victoria did once, and as all monarchs have done since the time of Edward VII.

The annual pageant ended with the fly past and the Queen and other royals appearing on the balcony.

Dedicated royal watchers will have been delighted by the sight of Princess Charlotte and an animated Prince George.

With Prince Charles and Prince William also there, this was the British monarchy, its present and its future on display.