Britain's royal family doesn't say a lot, but a balcony photo is worth 1,000 words.
Which is why the world waited expectantly ahead of Coronation Day on May 6 to see who would join King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their perch outside Buckingham Palace's Centre Room, the monarchy's premiere greet-the-people spot on special occasions since Queen Victoria's reign, when such moments could only be painted for posterity.
For starters, everyone who was expected made it into the shot, namely Charles' eldest son Prince William, Kate Middleton and their children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5; as well as the king's younger siblings Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence; plus Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, now the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Sophie and Edward's children, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 19, and James, Earl of Wessex, also had prominent placement, as did George's seven fellow Pages of Honour.
Prince Harry, no longer a senior royal but generally ranking in hearts and minds, was not on the balcony after much speculation as to whether or not he'd appear for the first time since the June 2019 Trooping the Colour, back when his (and wife Meghan Markle's) appearance at such events was a given.
The big question hanging over the day, really, was would Charles' younger son, who attended the coronation solo—while Meghan stayed in California with birthday boy Archie, 4, and daughter Lilibet, 23 months—still be part of the VIP action after the packed-with-symbolism ceremony at Westminster Abbey?
Seated in the third row alongside cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice and their husbands, the answer was an emphatic not really.
During the coronation, Charles and Camilla were anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury and formally crowned—the monarch with the five-pound, 362-year-old St. Edward's Crown and his wife with the Crown of Queen Mary, which was originally made in 1911 for Charles' grandmother by British jeweler Garrard and has been updated with diamonds from the late Queen Elizabeth II's collection.
All together the couple were wearing hundreds of carats of jewels upon their heads, the load only slightly lessened when Charles donned the Imperial Crown (St. Edward's never leaves Westminster Abbey) for the ride back to Buckingham Palace in the 261-year-old Gold State Coach.
Upon arrival, Charles and Camilla headed to the balcony on the palace's East Front facing The Mall, where thousands of spectators were gathered to share in the vibes of the first coronation to take place in the United Kingdom in 70 years.
"I've seen one coronation, and been the recipient in the other," Elizabeth said in The Coronation, a 2018 documentary about her momentous day, "which is pretty remarkable."
Her late husband Prince Philip served as Chair of the Coronation Commission and was integral in the historic decision to televise a portion of his wife's ceremony, thinking it would serve the monarchy well to demystify the ritual for the public.
The then-25-year-old queen appeared on the balcony in 1953 with Philip and their children to date, 4-year-old Charles and 2-year-old Anne, as well as her mum, the Queen Mother, sister Princess Margaret, and her six Maids of Honour.
Charles attended his mum's coronation ceremony but didn't have any assigned duties. George, who's second in line to the throne, became the youngest future king to have an official role in a coronation.
As Charles' heir, William, wearing a formal robe and mantle, presented his father with the Stole Royal and the Robe Royal during the service.
Harry's non-working royal status was highlighted by the military medals pinned to his dark morning suit, the British Army veteran having not worn his military uniform at ceremonial events since he and Meghan stepped away from royal duties in 2020. (He did don his uniform as he stood vigil with his brother and first cousins when the queen lay in state at Westminster Hall ahead of her funeral.)
While the Coronation Procession was making its way back to the palace, royal correspondents declared it highly unlikely that Harry would be on the balcony, though all agreed it would be a heartening moment of unity if he was.
Scroll on to see all the big moments from King Charles III's coronation:
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