With her blonde hair down and cheeky smile, Princess Charlotte is every inch the perfect princess in her ninth birthday portrait.
Her mother Kate Middleton was back behind the camera to snap a picture of her daughter to mark her special day on Thursday.
Wearing a £42 raspberry wool cardigan from Parisian brand Cyrillus paired with a denim skirt from the same brand, the youngster smiled happily for the camera.
It is the second time in recent weeks that royals Kate and William have broken their long tradition of publishing their children’s birthday portraits.
And it looks like Charlotte paid a sweet tribute to her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as she posed alongside pale pink flowers named in her honour.
The flowers, known as Clematis montana var. rubens cultivar – is one of the first plants named after the monarch, reports Illustrated gardens.
Kensington Palace often releases portraits of Welsh children early in the morning to mark their birthdays.
With her blonde hair down and cheeky smile, Princess Charlotte is every inch the perfect princess in her ninth birthday portrait.
However, breaking with tradition, the couple shared a photo of Prince Louis last Tuesday afternoon instead of midnight on his birthday, as is usual with new royal portraits.
They also shared an unseen wedding photo to commemorate their 13th wedding anniversary. Many have been wondering if the future King and Queen will share a new photo of their only daughter, following the fallout from their Photoshop rage earlier this year.
A Mother’s Day portrait of Kate and her children, posted on March 10, was removed by several photo agencies after it was revealed that the image had been significantly edited.
Less than two weeks later, Kate announced in an emotional video that she has cancer and spoke of the need to protect her young family.
The Mail’s Rebecca English revealed that the couple had initially decided not to issue any due to their recent calls for privacy at such an “unprecedented” time for their family, but changed their minds as they wanted to thank fans for their kind wishes. for Prince. Luis.
And speaking to The Express, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added that once they decided to release a photo, there was probably a lot of discussion about the best approach, given the furor over Kate’s edited Mother’s Day photo.
Overall, Richard said the moment could “emphasize Kate’s need for time, space and privacy.”
Last year, Charlotte was photographed cuddling her spaniel Orla for her birthday photo.
Describing the “controversial” subject of her Mother’s Day portrait, she described the reaction as a “very embarrassing setback.”
She added that not rushing to post a birthday photo of Louis could also “emphasize his need for time, space and privacy which he expressed so poignantly” in the video message revealing he has cancer.
Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales detailed how the cancer cells were discovered, while undergoing surgery for a different condition in January.