Prince of plumes! Smiling William shares a chat with uncle Edward during ancient Order of the Garter procession as royals join King and Queen at Windsor Castle – after Kate’s Trooping the Colour boost to the nation

Prince William chatted with his uncle Prince Edward during the Order of the Garter procession this afternoon as they joined the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

Charles and Camilla led members of the Royal Family to the annual Garter Day service at St George’s Chapel as the busy royal summer period began in earnest.

Other royals at the traditional celebration commemorating the ancient Order of the Garter included Princess Anne and Edward’s wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

The King’s appearance comes just two days after the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London where he was joined by fellow cancer patient the Princess of Wales. But Kate did not attend today’s service, and her chemotherapy treatment continues.

Queues lasting more than two hours had built up outside the castle this morning, with visitors bringing camping chairs as they prepared for a long wait to get in.

While the main castle was shut to the public today, people queued to get a glimpse of those attending the service from 3pm at the chapel which is within the grounds.

Shortly before 3pm this afternoon, the King donned heavy blue velvet robes and his ostrich-plumed hat as he headed the Order for the service after an annual lunch.

How the Order of the Garter was inspired by tales of King Arthur

The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain.

The Order was established in 1348 by King Edward III who was inspired by tales of King Arthur and the chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table.

The annual Garter Day procession to the service sees Ladies and Knights of the Order of the Garter process down the hill from Windsor Castle’s State Apartments to St George’s Chapel.

The royals are dressed in white plumed hats and dark blue velvet robes, watched by crowds of onlookers.

Today, the Order includes King Charles, several senior members of the Royal Family and 24 knights chosen in recognition of their outstanding public service and achievement.

 

Watched by Sophie and Anne’s husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence from the sidelines, the King, Queen, William, Anne and Edward made their way down to the Lower Ward in brilliant sunshine and blue skies.

Kate also normally attends to watch her husband, William, taking part.

But last week Kensington Palace confirmed that she would not be there this year due to her ongoing cancer treatment.

The beleaguered Duke of York – now a non-working royal – attended the lunch in his role as a Royal Knight Companion but, as last year, was not permitted to join the procession.

Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Virginia Giuffre, a woman he claimed never to have met.

Frail Princess Alexandra is a Royal Lady Companion but did not attend for ‘her own comfort’.

At 2.45pm the grand procession began to make its way down to the chapel from the castle quadrangle before the service at 3pm.

It was headed by the Governor of Windsor Castle and the Military Knights of Windsor followed by heralds and then the knights of the order themselves including Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair and Baroness Manningham-Buller.

As the King and Queen arrived at the door to the chapel, a fanfare of trumpets was played.

The Duke of Kent, also a Royal Knight Companion, was waiting in the chapel and did not take part in the procession – again because of his health.

However, Sophie and Vice Admiral Sir Tim both attended as guests.

Earlier, the line to get into Windsor Castle went all the way down St Albans Street next to the castle and up to Park Street, with staff trying to keep everyone entertained in the sunshine.

One local resident told MailOnline that the queue was ‘going back almost to the Long Walk’ and the number of police officers in the area was ‘more than doubled’.

He added: ‘Since King Charles and the Princess of Wales had their cancer announcements, Windsor Castle has never been so busy.

‘Now the bulk of them seem to be American tourists flocking back over. They’re all hoping for a glimpse of King Charles when they go round the grounds.

‘This has probably been the record this year and probably since the Queen’s death. This is just a regular week, it’s nice weather but it’s not boiling hot.

‘Even in the rain back in March and April they were queuing up for ages under their umbrellas. Today was unusually busy because of the Garter.’

After the snap General Election was called last month by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for July 4, Buckingham Palace said the Royal Family would postpone engagements ‘which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign’.

However, this was not a blanket ban and visits are being considered on a case-by-case basis – with the Garter Day service among the events given the go-ahead.

Garter Day sees Ladies and Knights of the Order of the Garter – the country’s oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry – process down the hill from the Berkshire castle’s State Apartments to St George’s Chapel.

They are dressed in white plumed hats and dark blue velvet robes, and watched by crowds of onlookers.

The ceremony heralds a busy period for the royals, with the King and Queen expected at Royal Ascot in the coming days, and the following week they will host a state visit by Japan’s Emperor.

Hundreds of spectators lined the procession route with many taking hampers and camping chairs to add a summer picnic feel to the occasion.

The palace confirmed in advance that Charles, Camilla and members of the Royal Family would depart by carriage afterwards and return to the castle.

The installation of new Companions of the Order – including composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber who has been made a Knight Companion – took place during the service.

Theatre impresario Lord Lloyd Webber, whose hit musicals include The Phantom Of The Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, also attended a private investiture in the castle’s Garter Throne Room earlier today.

Also being invested was the Duchess of Gloucester as a Royal Lady of the Garter, as well as Lord Kakkar, emeritus professor of surgery at University College London and Air Chief Marshal the Lord Peach, who have both been made Knight Companions.

The Order of the Garter was established nearly 700 years ago in 1348 by King Edward III who was inspired by tales of King Arthur and the chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table.

The Garter is awarded by the sovereign for outstanding public service and achievement.

Last Thursday, Buckingham Palace announced that Baroness Manningham-Buller, the former director general of MI5, had been named as the Order of the Garter’s new Chancellor.

Lady Manningham-Buller, who served for more than 30 years with the intelligence service including five years as its director general, was appointed to the role by the King.

The decision is the King’s gift, made without consulting ministers, and from today the peer becomes the first woman to hold the post since the office’s inception in 1475, and will succeed the Duke of Abercorn, retiring after 12 years.

Lady Manningham-Buller sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords and was appointed a Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014, after she retired from MI5 seven years earlier.

The main focus of her work with MI5 was counter-terrorism, both international and domestic, and during her tenure terrorists launched the July 7 bombings in London and terrorism risk assessments were made public.

Charles also appointed Lord Ashton of Hyde, a former Conservative chief whip in the Lords, to the largely ceremonial role of Master of the Horse.

The holder in centuries past was responsible for the sovereign’s horses, coaches and travel arrangements and today is titular head of the Royal Mews, which looks after royal vehicles such as state Bentleys and carriages.

Lord Ashton will replace the serving Master of the Horse, Lord de Mauley, whose final major duty was to ride in Trooping the Colour ceremony as holders of the post are present when the Royal Mews supports state occasions.

It comes after Charles’s official birthday celebrations on Saturday, where the Princess of Wales made her first public appearance this year.

Kate looked relaxed during her first day in the spotlight following her cancer diagnosis for the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony.

With the King also suffering from cancer, it was a rare joint public outing for the entire family after a period of uncertainty.

Kate rode to the event in a carriage with her children, while William, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh were on horseback.

The King also rode in a carriage with the Queen, a departure from last year because of his illness.

Both Kate and Charles have thanked the public for their support after going public with their illnesses, with Kate saying she had been ‘blown away’ by the ‘kind messages’ that had made a ‘world of difference to William and me and has helped us both through some of the harder times’.

Kate was initially admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery on January 16 and at the time her condition was thought to be non-cancerous, but cancer was found following the successful operation.

Charles was admitted to hospital just days after Kate, also for a procedure deemed unrelated to cancer.

In February, Buckingham Palace confirmed that he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer, which is not prostate cancer, that was discovered while the King was being treated at the private London Clinic for an enlarged prostate.

Charles initially postponed public-facing duties but resumed at the end of April, speaking of his ‘shock’ at being diagnosed with cancer as he met patients during a visit to University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in central London.