Trooping the Colour: Awkward gaps in balcony appearance explained

Eagle-eyed fans noted a strange detail during the royal family's appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the conclusion of King Charles' Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Royal watchers noted that there were a few "awkward" gaps left wide open between King Charles and Prince William as well as other family members and as per a report by Daily Star, the Firm has an answer to why that was the case.

According to the publication, since King Charles's new plans of slimming down the monarchy became known, the Firm seemingly decided to snub some royals who were formerly part of the ceremony.

In particular, the gap between the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and other elder royals like the Duke of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester raised more than a few eyebrows.

The report stated that the gaps were "seemingly the place where formerly active members of the Royal Family would stand, with the family failing to make up the numbers for the most recent appearance."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were notably missing from the event.

The couple made their last appearance with the royal family during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

While Prince Harry made a brief appearance at King Charles III’s Coronation he did not stick around for the subsequent events, having flown back to the US for his son Archie's fourth birthday.

Furthermore, Prince Andrew was not a part of the ceremony as he was "seemingly axed" by the monarch.

Other lesser-known names included a cousin of the late Queen, Princess Alexandra as well as the Ear of Wessex.

Essentially, the final roster for the royal balcony appearance had 14 members in total, which was "three less than the previous event".