William, Kate thank public for Louis birthday messages

Prince William and his wife Kate have thanked the public for messages sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also issued a picture of Louis on social media to mark the occasion on Tuesday, showing a close-up image of the beaming young prince.

"Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! Thank you for all the kind wishes today," their office Kensington Palace said on social media platform X.

Kate was credited with taking the picture in Windsor where the family lives.

Louis is the youngest of their three children, with George, aged 10, and Charlotte due to celebrate her ninth birthday in May.

Kensington Palace has for some years released photographs taken by Kate, a keen amateur photographer, to mark birthdays and other family occasions.

However, a picture issued on UK Mother's Day in March was withdrawn by a number of news agencies because it had been edited, something for which Kate later apologised.

That occurred shortly before the princess revealed she was having preventative chemotherapy after tests carried out in the wake major abdominal surgery she underwent in January revealed that cancer had been present.

Heir to the throne William has only just returned to official duties since that announcement, and Kate herself will only return to the public spotlight when her medical team says she is well enough to do so.