Disappointing photos show what it was like to attend royal engagements in 2022

The year 2022 will likely go down in the royal history books. In June, the royal family gathered to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 70th anniversary on the British throne, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attended their first joint royal engagement in the UK in two years.

Then on September 8, the Queen died at the age of 96, and her eldest son, King Charles, ascended the throne.

Insider's lifestyle reporters Mikhaila Friel and Maria Noyen were on the ground to cover many of the royal family's engagements throughout the year. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to witness history unfold and to see royals such as Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton, and King Charles in real life. However, they also found that the large crowds and media restrictions made some of these events disappointing.

William and Kate were at the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland, on May 11 to speak to students and alumni about mental health.

Since Friel is based in Glasgow, she was invited to cover the couple's walkabout after the event, where they spoke to members of the public outside. While she enjoyed the engagement, Friel didn't get the chance to interact with the royals like some members of the public did.

Friel was escorted to the designated press area, which was adjacent to the barriers where members of the public stood. There were only a handful of press there, and it was mostly photographers.

Kate and William finally exited the building and greeted the public, and Friel thought it was lovely to see them shaking hands and interacting with so many of their supporters. That being said, she felt she didn't have the best view in the press area, as for the majority of the time she could only see William and Kate in profile or from behind.

Next time there's a small-scale royal event, Friel concluded, it would be better to attend as a member of the public.

Friel traveled from her home in Glasgow to London, England, in June to attend events for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which marked Her Majesty's 70 years on the British throne. The first event she attended was Trooping the Colour, an annual parade outside Buckingham Palace for the Queen's birthday on June 2.

This time around, Friel didn't have a press pass. The parade was open to the British public, who showed up in the thousands to catch a glimpse of the royals.

As Friel tried to secure a spot on the parade route, she noticed some people were standing on stools to get a better view, while others had brought fold-out chairs. She wished she had thought of the idea herself, as all the standing around and waiting made her feet hurt.

Members of the British Army, horses, musicians, and royal family members took part in the parade on The Mall near Buckingham Palace. Friel was grateful that she got to see the royals up close, and she reveled in the excitement of the crowd when Prince William and Prince Anne passed on horseback, and then again when Kate Middleton and her three children passed in a carriage.

However, seeing and taking photos of the royals proved to be difficult due to all the phones in the air. It reminded Friel of what it was like to attend a sold-out concert, where people are often more concerned about capturing the performance on their phones than experiencing it for themselves.

Friel felt sorry for tourists who might have been seeing the palace for the very first time that day, as it was so busy that you couldn't even take a picture without being photobombed.

Friel was particularly looking forward to seeing Queen Elizabeth watch the flypast on the balcony, as the 96-year-old hadn't joined her family on the parade.

Unfortunately, Friel's view of the balcony was partly obstructed since a stage was being built for the Platinum Party concert, due to take place later that weekend. In fact, because the Queen was so small, Friel could only see her lilac hat.

Harry and Meghan joined members of the royal family and British politicians at a Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral in honor of the Queen's Jubilee. It marked the couple's first joint royal engagement since their step back in 2020.

Friel didn't have a press pass or a ticket to the service, so she joined the hundreds of people who waited outside the cathedral in order to catch a glimpse.

Friel noticed that there weren't as many people as there had been at Trooping the Colour, but it was still extremely busy.

The entrance had been cordoned off, and royal fans stood at the barriers waving Union Jack flags and snapping photos, while members of the press conducted interviews in the middle of the crowd.

Friel could clearly see Meghan's white coat and matching hat and Harry's bright-red hair as they exited their car and walked up the steps to the cathedral. However, she was so far away that even when she used the zoom function on her camera, you could hardly see the couple in the photos.

Later, there were reports that the couple was booed while leaving the service. While Friel didn't hear the boos, royal historian Marlene Koenig who was in a different section of the crowd told Insider that she did hear it.

"We did hear boos coming from further down, but there were far more cheers. With the sound of the bells, you couldn't really hear everything. By contrast, Boris Johnson got massive boos and calls to resign, she said, referring to the former UK Prime Minister who resigned in July.

Like Friel, Noyen was on the ground during several royal events that took place in the UK over the year. She was at Buckingham Palace the day after Queen Elizabeth II died in September and saw King Charles III arrive alongside Camilla, Queen Consort. She was in London for the Queen's funeral, when millions of people took to the streets outside of Westminster Abbey to pay tribute to the late monarch.

But in May, Noyen attended her first-ever royal event: a Trooping the Colour. It was held in honor of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th year on the British throne.

The event, which involved a parade of royal officers, horses, and musicians, was held outside the Old Admiralty Building near Buckingham Palace in London.

The event's purpose was to celebrate and honor the Queen having spent 70 years on the British throne. But not everyone who attended was clued in on that.

One individual that Insider spoke to while waiting in a lengthy queue to enter the Old Admiralty Building believed he was attending a horse show. Although horses do play a significant role in Trooping the Colour, it was surprising to find not everyone was aware of the central focus of the event.

Noyen found it difficult to miss the horse manure, both with her sight and her nose. The smell followed her everywhere from the start to the finish of the event.

Unlike Friel's experience at Trooping the Colour, Noyen didn't ever catch a glimpse of a member of the royal family attending the event in May.

At one point, a carriage painted with the royal insignia drove passed the spectators. Although many believed that the Queen was sitting inside, it was impossible to tell since the windows were blacked out.

Many attendees brought children of all ages to the event.

While some children appeared to enjoy it, watching on in awe as the horse parade came through to give a performance, others were pointing out, and rightly so, that a fair few animals were pooping during the spectacle.

It was extremely hot the day Noyen attended the event, with temperatures getting as high as the late 20 degrees Celsius, or roughly 80 degrees Fahrenheit. What's more, for the majority of attendees, there was little shade available to gain respite from the blazing sun.

Noyen also noticed a lack of water or food available during the event, which lasted over an hour. Some attendees were smart enough to bring their own supplies, but that was not the case for everyone.

In the end, Noyen left her first royal event with a sunburn and a mild case of dehydration.