In honor of Prince Louis' 6th birthday, his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, released an adorable snap taken by his mother, Catherine.
"Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis!" the pair captioned the photo in a post on X, adding the cake emoji. "Thank you for all the kind wishes today."
The post gave the photo credit to the Princess of Wales, or the former Kate Middleton. The photo is the first personal post the account has posted since Kate shared in March that she's undergoing treatment for cancer.
Kate said she and her husband, William, wanted to privately tell their three children, George, 10, Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 6, about her cancer diagnosis, before sharing the news with the world.
“As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment,” she said in a video posted in March. “But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.”
The photo of Louis comes after Kensington Palace became embroiled in controversy surrounding a family portrait released on March 10, or Mother's Day in the U.K.
The photo of Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis was later killed, or deemed not to be used, by multiple photo agencies after it was determined it had apparently been "manipulated."
The day after the photo was posted, Kensington Palace released an apology from Kate.
“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. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C,” she wrote on X.
William and Kate traditionally release new photos every year, many times taken by Kate, in honor of each of their kids' birthdays.
Louis was seen in public on Christmas Day with the rest of his family as they walked to church on King Charles III's Sandringham estate. He held hands with his father, as well as Zara and Mike Tindall's daughter Mia.
The youngest child of William and Kate has stolen the show at several of his public appearances, including making faces at the annual "Trooping the Colour" parade last summer.
To the delight of royal fans and photographers, Louis held both arms out like a pilot and scrunched up his face in an adorable candid moment.
About two months earlier, Louis also gave a big yawn and stared at the ceiling at his grandfather Charles' coronation.
The 6-year-old is a student at Lambrook School in Berkshire, England. After spending Easter with his family, he and his two older siblings returned to the classroom.
