Prince Louis is 6!
Kate Middleton and Prince William shared an adorable new photo of their youngest child on Tuesday, his sixth birthday.
“Happy 6th birthday Prince Louis!” read the post on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts. “Thank you for all the kind wishes today.”
The photo was attributed to the Princess of Wales.
Prince Louis Arthur Charles was born on April 23, 2018 at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. He is fourth in line to the throne, after his older siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Royal followers learned last year that Kate has a cute nickname for her youngest son, whom she called “Lou Bugs” at a coronation event.
Although the Prince and Princess of Wales have always released photos of their children on birthdays and other special occasions, this photo comes at a particularly difficult time for the royal family.
The Princess of Wales announced in March that she had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer after a long period of retreat from public life.
In January, Kensington Palace announced that Kate had undergone elective abdominal surgery and would be absent from royal duties until sometime after Easter. Her condition was initially deemed non-cancerous.
Before Kate’s diagnosis was announced in late March, the palace released the first official photo of the princess since her surgery, a portrait in honor of British Mother’s Day.
Several photo agencies later claimed that the family photo had been digitally altered, prompting the Princess of Wales to apologise the next day.
“Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing,” the royal wrote in a tweet on X. “I want to apologize for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone celebrating it had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
