Kate Middleton and Prince William shared an adorable new portrait of Prince Louis on his sixth birthday.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will celebrate their youngest son’s birthday on April 23. In previous years, they delighted royal fans by sharing new images of their children to mark special occasions. The couple went on to post a photograph of Prince Louis on social media, writing, “Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! Thank you for all the kind wishes today.”
The image was taken by the Princess of Wales, and appears to show the little royal relaxing on the lawn at home on a blanket. Wearing a checked shirt and navy-blue shorts, Louis beams at his mother while crossing his arms and leaning across a cream-and-tan picnic blanket.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
The previous image of Prince Louis shared with the public was the infamous Mother’s Day photograph, which showed the little royal alongside Kate, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte. After the picture was released, eagle-eyed members of the public were quick to point out a number of “errors” in the image that indicated it had been digitally manipulated. Kensington Palace came under immense pressure after the photo was withdrawn by major photo agencies, including Reuters, AP, Getty, and AFP, before Kate Middleton released a statement saying she had, in fact, edited it.
Prince William had taken the photograph of the family before Kate edited it in Photoshop and sent it to her team, according to The Times. Insiders said the Princess was “thinking of her own children when editing the picture, hoping that they looked good for their own sakes.” A palace insider told The Telegraph that Kate had just tried to make the picture the “best it could be.” Meanwhile, according to the Mirror, a friend of the Princess said she was “deeply upset” over the storm caused by what was supposed to be an “innocent family photograph.”
Weeks later, the Princess revealed her cancer diagnosis, and she and Prince William retreated from public life to spend the Easter holidays with their children. Royal experts spoke of how Kate’s close-knit family has rallied around around the Waleses at this time. Royal commentator and biographer Duncan Larcombe told the Mirror that Carole and Michael Middleton, Kate’s parents, had thrown a “safety blanket” over George, Charlotte, and Louis, and offered support to William, whom they consider an “adopted son.” The couple is said to be ‘"desperately upset" about their daughter’s cancer diagnosis but have been “rallying” to support her and the Prince during this time.
He said, “They’ll have rallied around her, especially her young family. Carole and Michael will have essentially thrown a safety blanket around the young children to help protect them. In times like this for Kate, it is hugely important. It is crucial the children are looked after carefully.”
And while Prince Louis is believed to have returned to school alongside Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales has taken small steps in returning to her royal duties. After the horrendous knife attack in Sydney on April 13, Kate joined Prince William in sending her thoughts and wishes to Australia. In her first public statement since she revealed she has cancer, Kate, alongside William, wrote: “We are shocked and saddened by the terrible events in Sydney earlier today. Our thoughts are with all those affected, including the loved ones of those lost and the heroic emergency responders who risked their own lives to save others.”
The two signed the statement “W & C.”
While Kate may have spent the last few months out of the public eye, she's believed to be keeping up with her projects by working from home. According to The Telegraph, Kate continued to work during the first few months of the year on her ambitious Early Years initiative. The royal mother-of-three spent time studying the research on how to improve the lives of babies. Her Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood funded a four-month trial of a baby observation tool that could be used to improve how health workers spot signs of social and emotional development in young children. Results for the study were published in March.
A spokesman for Kensington Palace said: “The Princess has been kept updated throughout the process.”
This article first appeared on Tatler.
