A new picture of Princess Charlotte, taken by the Princess of Wales, has been released by Kensington Palace to mark her ninth birthday. It is another break in royal tradition, with the picture being released straight to the Palace’s X account rather than being sent to the media in advance.
The same happened last week to mark Prince Louis’ sixth birthday. The new picture, released on Thursday, shows Princess Charlotte with her hair down, wearing a burgundy cardigan and denim skirt, posing next to a clematis plant with pink petals.
It was accompanied by the message: “Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! Thank you for all of the kind messages today.” Charlotte’s big day comes as the Wales family navigate Kate’s cancer treatment, with the princess away from official duties since the start of the year.
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This is thought to be one of the reasons for the change in tradition in releasing the pictures. It also follows furore earlier this year when Kate admitted to editing a picture released to coincide with Mother’s Day.
Last month, a new photograph of Prince Louis taken by the Princess of Wales was released by Kensington Palace to mark his sixth birthday.
The unedited close-up image of Louis lying on a rug on the grass and smiling at the camera was taken in the last few days at Windsor by Kate, who announced last month she is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer. It was posted on Kensington Palace’s social media accounts, some six weeks after the furore surrounding the Mother’s Day portrait which the princess admitted editing.
The Wales family has had a challenging start to the year, with the princess’s major abdominal surgery, cancer diagnosis and treatment. The release of the portrait marks a change in the way William and Kate usually release images for their children’s birthdays.
It was posted straight to social media on Louis’ actual birthday on Tuesday, rather than under embargo to the press the day before, as was the established pattern William and Kate have followed each year for all three of their children since they were born. It is understood to be due to the unprecedented time the family is experiencing.
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