The day after the christening of Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s third child, Prince Louis, the proud parents, accompanied by Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle, attended the 100th birthday celebrations of the Royal Air Force.
The two princes were dressed in their military garb, while Middleton wore Alexander McQueen and Markle donned a black Dior dress.
The Queen, who didn’t attend the christening of Prince Louis, appeared to be in high spirits at the RAF celebration. She and her son, Prince Charles, presented a new Queen’s Colour to the RAF at Buckingham Palace once the service was complete.
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“Tenacity, skill and gallantry have been your hallmarks,” she said. “I remember the Battle of Britain being fought in the skies above us and we shall never forget the courage and sacrifice of that time,” she added, referring to the decisive encounter between the air forces of Britain and Nazi Germany over southern England in 1940.
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After the brief speech, the Queen joined the rest of the royals up on the palace balcony to watch almost 100 aircraft, from Second World War Spitfires to the newest stealth fighter jet, fly over the palace.
Thousands of people lined the palace approach in central London to watch the ceremony. The flypast also included bombers, old and new, along with spy planes, helicopters and transporters.
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The Queen and the other royals watched Typhoons form the shape of the number 100 in the sky, before the Red Arrows, the RAF’s aerobatic team, concluded the show, vapour-trailing the red, white and blue of the Union Jack flag.
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The RAF, which is the first-ever independent air force, split from the British Army and Royal Navy in April 1918.
Prince William served a stint in the RAF Search and Rescue service in North Wales, and Prince Harry also briefly took part at RAF Shawbury. Both princes were trained to fly helicopters. Charles, too, served as an RAF pilot.
(You can watch the royals at the RAF celebrations in the video, top.)
— With files from Reuters