Why the Queen chose this one unlikely royal to be by her side at Trooping the Colour

The Queen has celebrated her 'official' birthday at this year's Trooping the Colour parade, but chose to have only one other royal at her side for the occasion.

Traditionally a massive parade and public celebration, Trooping the Colour was scaled back this year, as it was in 2020.

Coronavirus restrictions meant the event was hosted at Windsor Castle, the "mini-Trooping" performed by a small number of Welsh Guardsmen and the band of the Household Division.

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Sitting alone on a dais at the castle's quadrangle, Her Majesty cut a lonely figure compared to the usual photos of the royal family crowded onto Buckingham Palace's balcony for the event.

Traditionally, the Queen spends the day surrounded by fellow royals, but she only had one by her side on Saturday; Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent.

He seemed an unlikely choice for the role, given Prince Edward doesn't have a huge public royal role and certainly isn't as popular as the likes of Prince William or Kate Middleton.

But Edward, as cousin to the Queen, has been quietly supporting Her Majesty for decades now.

The 85-year-old royal was the third member of the royal family to pay homage at Queen Elizabeth II's throne on the day of her coronation in 1953. Prince Philip was the first.

In the over half-century since that day, Edward has been attending engagements and performing royal duties on the Queen's behalf.

From acting as Counsellor of State during periods of the Queen's absence abroad, to representing her during independence celebrations in the Commonwealth countries of Sierra Leone, Uganda, Ghana and more, he's served faithfully.

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Aside from her late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Kent could be considered Her Majesty's longest-serving royal supporter.

He was even among the 30 guests at the late Duke of Edinburgh's royal funeral in April of this year, showing his support for the Queen yet again.

As such, it shouldn't come as such a surprise that the Queen would ask Edward to stand by her side on her first 'official' birthday celebrations following Philip's death.

On Saturday Her Majesty received a royal salute, followed by a display of precision marching with the military maintaining strict social distancing measures, in keeping with government guidelines.

She was also treated to a colourful royal fly over Windsor Castle by The Red Arrows which saw her look to the skies in delight, Prince Edward at her side.