Prince Louis turns six
Fans hope in vain for a birthday portrait
Kensington Palace released this photo of Prince Louis on his fifth birthday last year.
© ddp/CAMERA PRESS/ROTA/Millie Pilkington
Princess Kate and Prince William are breaking with a tradition: there are no new photos to see on Prince Louis’ sixth birthday.
Royal fans are waiting in vain for birthday portraits of Prince Louis on April 23, 2024. The youngest child of Prince William (41) and Princess Kate (42) is celebrating his sixth birthday this Tuesday. But unlike in previous years, there is no current snapshot of the anniversary person to be seen on social media channels. Prince William and Princess Kate usually release new pictures for each of their three children’s birthdays.
Why break with the cherished tradition now? The British media can currently only speculate on this. It may have something to do with the excitement surrounding the manipulated family photo that was published last month and led to a PR meltdown. The media noticed irregularities in the image and were subsequently able to detect major changes using image editing programs. Kate later admitted that she had manipulated the image herself. Do the Royals want to avoid another photo shitstorm? Or is the lack of images more related to Princess Kate’s cancer? Due to the current stroke of fate, does the mother of three want to protect her family even more than in normal times?
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams (74) also takes the same line. in an interview with the British “Daily Express”. On the one hand, the revelations about the subsequent editing led to a highly embarrassing argument and were a major nuisance. On the other hand, Kate emphasized by disclaiming that the family had a need for “time, space and privacy,” which she also expressed in her video message. In his opinion, this should be understood by all observers of the British royals after the misunderstandings of the last few weeks – despite the current disappointment over the lack of the photo.
Maybe the photo is just delayed?
There is also the possibility that it is just a matter of a time delay and that the photo will be published in the coming hours, The “Daily Mail” admits only a small probability. In recent years, the photos have always been sent to the British editorial offices the evening before, with an embargo. The newspapers and publishers were then allowed to publish the images in the early hours of the morning, parallel to the respective official social media posts. This year there would have been no photo from Kensington Palace for the journalists.
Last year, the palace shared a photo of Louis Kate pushing her son around Windsor in a wheelbarrow. In previous years there were photos of her youngest son taken by Kate herself. Louis was last seen at an official Royal Family engagement at Christmas, when he attended a church service at Sandringham with his family.
The British heir to the throne, Prince William, and his cancer-stricken wife Princess Kate are trying to give their children Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (8) and Prince Louis a life as normal as possible during this difficult time, far away from big appearances and flashbulbs. Louis goes to Lambrook School in Berkshire with his siblings and returned to class after the Easter holidays.