The Prince and Princess of Wales are celebrating Prince Louis' sixth birthday today, and while it had previously been reported that they may not release a portrait of their youngest son to mark the occasion, William and Kate have decided to share a new photo of Louis. The couple has traditionally shared self-shot portraits of their three children for their birthdays, but in the wake of the Mother's Day photo editing controversy it was unclear if the royals would bypass the custom this year.
However, the Wales' have shared a sweet photo of Louis on their social media accounts, with the latest portrait showing the youngest of the Wales' children laying on the grass and smiling at the camera. Alongside the image, William and Kate wrote: "Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! Thank you for all the kind wishes today. [Photo] The Princess of Wales."
It is the first picture that Kate has shared since facing backlash for editing an official royal photo back in March. The image of the Princess and her three children faced scrutiny online last month, with photo agencies issuing a 'kill notice', before she addressed the accusations of image manipulation with a statement which read: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."
Royal experts had claimed that Kate may refrain from sharing a photo of Louis given the intense public scrutiny, with aides claiming just weeks ago that 'no firm decision' had been made. Earlier today, fans had shared their disappointment that there was no official photo of the young royal. But shortly after it was released, many noticed a sweet detail in the photo.
The Prince - who won legions of fans two years ago during the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee, thanks to his cheeky behaviour - is growing up very quickly, and even appears to have lost a couple of his front teeth. In the image, Louis is smiling at the camera and eagle-eyed fans noticed that he is missing two teeth on his bottom row and has grown up a lot since his hilarious facial expressions on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 2022.
One person on X, formerly Twitter, wrote: "Prince Louis is growing up so fast. What an adorable photo by The Princess of Wales! Happy birthday to our dear boss baby!"
Another person added: "He has grown so quickly and has kept us entertained with his cuteness."
It has been reported that the Princess of Wales' portrait of her youngest child was taken in Windsor over the last few days.
Happy birthday Prince Louis!
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