Royal fans questioned why the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall did not curtsy to the Queen as she returned to Buckingham Palace following the Trooping the Colour parade on Saturday. Several other royals were spotted bowing and curtsying to Her Majesty after the glorious carriage procession, but Kate and Camilla noticeably did not. The reason is simple; Kate and Camilla had already curtsied to the Queen in private when they saw her in the morning. Traditionally, royals only curtsy to the monarch at the first greeting of the day. The Duchesses did show their respect during the parade itself, by bowing to the Queen as they passed her in their carriage.
Video: The royals greet the Queen as she returns to the palace
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Kate was joined by her husband Prince William and their children at Trooping. Last year's event was Kate's eighth; she has not missed a single parade since she married Prince William in 2011. Since 1748, Trooping the Colour has been the official commemoration of the sovereign's birthday, and throughout her reign, the Queen has never missed the occasion, apart from in 1955 when the event was cancelled due to a national rail strike.
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Trooping the Colour is steeped in tradition and involves a military parade and the chance for the Queen to inspect her personal troops, the Household Division, on Horse Guards Parade in London. More than 1,400 officers take part as well as 200 horses and over 400 musicians from ten bands. The Queen usually spends her actual birthday in April privately. However, the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in central London: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London.
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