WASHINGTON — Prince Louis turned 6 on Tuesday and his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are celebrating by sharing a new photograph of their youngest son.
The photo was posted to the couple's official social media accounts on Tuesday with the message: "Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! Thank you for all the kind wishes today."
The photo was taken by his mother, Kate, in Windsor within the "last few days," Kensington Palace officials told the BBC. They assured the outlet that the photo had not been edited — unlike the Mother's Day photo of Kate and her children that caused conspiracy theories to skyrocket amid her absence from public events. The birthday photo is the first image by the Princess of Wales the palace has distributed since the controversy.
Last month, Kate announced she was undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer found after her recent surgery. The news came just weeks after King Charles III disclosed that he was being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.
The palace told multiple media outlets on Tuesday it's aware of the difficult balance in asking for privacy for Kate and then releasing a birthday photo of the young prince. They explained the Prince and Princess of Wales decided to share the image as a way of thanking everyone who sent in birthday wishes.
Louis is fourth in line to the British throne behind his grandfather King Charles, his father Prince William, his older brother Prince George and his older sister Princess Charlotte.
It has become a birthday tradition for Kensington Palace to release snapshots on George, Louis and Charlotte's birthdays that were taken by their mother.
George turns 11 in July, while Charlotte turns 9 in May.