The Queen posted an adorable tribute to Prince George on his birthday

She has a sweet bond with her great-grandson.

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She has a sweet bond with her great-grandson.

The Queen may be one of the most famous people in the world, but she always sets time aside for her (very large) family.

On Prince George's ninth birthday — today, 22 July — the monarch posted a sweet tribute to her great-grandson on Twitter. She shared a lovely photo of the two of them during her recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations, captioned, "Wishing a very Happy 9th Birthday to Prince George!"

In the pic, the Queen and George are standing on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Sunday Pageant event. She is wearing her emerald green ensemble, complete with hat and pearls, while the little boy looks very smart in a navy blue suit and tie. Both are smiling happily, clearly thrilled to get to spend time together.

It looks like George is being properly celebrated as he turns nine: his parents posted a gorgeous portrait of him taken by Kate Middleton on Instagram, in which the young royal is grinning wide and enjoying time by the seaside. Commenters on the post were pretty much all taken aback by how similar George looks to his dad Prince William, and when you look at the portrait, it's kind of undeniable.

If you're shocked to hear that Prince George is already nine years old, don't worry: we are too. We're just trying not to think about how old we are.

Prince George on his 9th birthday

Prince George on his 9th birthday
(Image credit: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge)

We don't know exactly where the Cambridges are right now, but the family of five (plus their dog Orla) were recently spotted boarding a helicopter near Kensington Palace, after George, Charlotte and Louis finished school for the summer holidays.

Some have speculated that they were headed to their countryside retreat at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, while others have remarked that they are long overdue for a visit to the private Caribbean island of Mustique, a favourite of theirs which they last visited in 2019.

Wishing Prince George a very happy birthday!

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.