Princess Charlotte is celebrating her ninth birthday and to mark the occasion the Prince and Princess of Wales have released a new photograph of her.
A new picture of a grinning Princess Charlotte has been released to mark her ninth birthday today.
The adorable image, which shows the youngster casually leaning against a fence, was shared by the Prince and Princess of Wales on their social media accounts. Mum Kate took the unedited photograph at Windsor in the last few days.
Sharing the image, the royal couple said: “Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! Thank you for all of the kind messages today.”
She wears her long golden hair down, a change from when she attends royal engagements as she typically has her hair in braids.
Princess Kate took the new photo of Princess Charlotte (Image: KensingtonPalace)
Royal fans were quick to comment that the youngster looks “all grown up” in the new picture. The last time Charlotte was pictured in public was on Christmas Day last year, when she joined her family and other royals for a festive church service on the Sandringham estate.
Kate and William released the image in the same way Prince Louis’s sixth birthday was marked last week.
It marks a deviation from the usual process, which saw the images issued to the press in advance under embargo, as the royal couple instead shared the image directly to their social media accounts on the day of their birthdays, rather than the night before.
The change in how the images were released is understood to be due to the unprecedented time the family is experiencing, with the Princess of Wales currently undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
William and Kate are said to be cognisant of the fact that they have asked for privacy during the princess’ recovery, but wanted to share the photograph on social media as a way to thank those who have sent birthday wishes.
The princess bravely revealed her cancer diagnosis – which was found after her major abdominal surgery in January – to the world on March 22.
In a video message, Kate asked for “time, space and privacy” while she completed her course of chemotherapy, which she started in late February.
Princess Charlotte was last seen on Christmas Day with the rest of the Royal Family
Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana was born at 8.34am on May 2, 2015 at St Mary’s Hospital in London, the location of many royal births over the years.
She joined her older brother Prince George, who was born on July 22, 2013, and their younger brother Prince Louis later arrived on April 23, 2018.
Charlotte, who is third in line to the throne, attends the co-educational private Lambrook School near Ascot in Berkshire, and loves dancing, especially ballet and tap.
William recently revealed what tickles his daughter, during a visit to a school in the West Midlands where he was asked to contribute a “dad joke” to a student radio broadcast.
In his pre-recorded piece William told the listeners: “I think what I’ll do, is I’ll say a joke which is Charlotte’s favourite joke at the moment, she keeps telling me.”
William said “Knock Knock” and when the pupils said “who’s there” the royal replied “Interrupting cow” and as the group tried to say “interrupting cow who?” he made them laugh by saying “Mooo”.
Princess Charlotte is the second child and only daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales
Kate later issued an apology and admitted to editing the image, which was taken by William and released to mark Mother’s Day.
She said: “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.”
