With the Trooping of the Colour fast approaching, the royal family will soon be taking their stands on the Buckingham Palace balcony for one of their rare public appearances together.
The annual event to mark the Queen's birthday is one of few occasions which sees the family gather on the balcony for the fly past and photo op.
The time-honoured tradition dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria, when the monarch would step out to acknowledge her loyal subjects below.
But the rules behind which family member stands are slightly lesser known.
There's no official list for who is allowed on the balcony - but there are conventions which dictate who takes the spot closest to the Queen.
MyLondon has taken a closer look at how the family assembles for special occasions - and why.
Who gets to go on the balcony?
Although we like the thought of there being a super exclusive list with a bouncer checking on the inside of the door, there is actually no fixed list as the group is tailored to each occasion.
It will, however, always include the monarch and his or her spouse.
There’s also going to be the first and second in line to the throne along with their spouses. But they must be married. No ring, no entry.
Who stands where?
The star of the show takes centre stage. The Queen will always be in that spot unless it’s a Royal wedding - then it’s the bride and groom.
Her surrounding relatives will nearly always be, in order, the first and second in line to the throne - Charles and William - plus their wives and children.
Which occasions do they appear?
The most regular time the royals like to show their faces to the watching crowd is the Trooping the Colour - the annual celebration of the monarch's birthday.
It’s also the time when there will be the largest group on the balcony, and the event is always held on a Saturday in June.
After the Queen gives her troops a good inspection at the Horse Guards Parade in St James's Park, she and her family travel by carriages back to Buckingham Palace where they make their traditional balcony appearance.
Weddings, jubilees, coronations and major state ceremonies are the other occasions.
The other notable times the balcony came into use was during the wars.
In 1914, when the UK officially went to war with Germany, King George V stood out to offer reassurance.
And at the end of the Second World War when Winston Churchill appeared alongside the King and his daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
Let’s just hope we won’t be seeing the balcony used for that purpose any time soon.
Who started the tradition?
It was only fitting that one of Britain's most flamboyant monarchs started it all off.
Queen Victoria began the tradition during the opening celebrations of the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Seven years later she also instigated the family going out onto the balcony to acknowledge her subjects who had gathered for the wedding of her daughter Princess Victoria.
From there an iconic Royal wedding tradition was born.
And aren’t we glad for it? There have been many memorable moments.
My personal favourite being when the Royal wedding bridesmaid Grace Van Cutsem covered her ears to block out the crowd noise during Kate and Wills' first kiss.
