:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(627x509:629x511)/prince-louis-042326-6f6573b8da114851867fac61b0949cab.jpg)
NEED TO KNOW
- Prince Louis turned 8 years old on April 23
- Kate Middleton and Prince William celebrated their youngest son’s big day by sharing a new royal portrait of Louis
- Louis’ older sister, Princess Charlotte, turns 11 in May, while big brother Prince George turns 13 in July
Happy birthday, Prince Louis!
Kate Middleton and Prince William‘s youngest child celebrated his eighth birthday on Thursday, April 23. The family marked the occasion by continuing a royal tradition, sharing a new photo of the young prince.
The picture, taken earlier this month during a family vacation to the scenic seaside region of Cornwall, was captured by one of William and Kate’s go-to photographers, Matt Porteous, and shows Louis all smiles, with wind-blown hair, wearing a three-quarter blue zip-up sweater.
The Prince and Princess of Wales release a portrait of each of their three children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis — every year as a way of acknowledging well-wishers who reach out to wish them a happy birthday. While professional photographers sometimes take the snaps for the family, Kate, 44, has also gotten behind the camera for the annual photos.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(446x536:448x538):format(webp)/prince-louis-042326-2-62f065fb641f47ce940dc90ef6614388.jpg)
Last year’s birthday portrait marked a notable, grown-up change for Louis. In addition to missing his two front teeth, he was also wearing jeans, marking the first time that the young prince wore long pants rather than shorts in a birthday picture.
It’s classic fashion for upper-class boys in Britain to wear shorts with knee socks instead of pants — even in cold weather. Both Prince William, 43, and Prince Harry, 41, wore shorts with long socks when they were young, and Prince George and Prince Louis continued the trend into the next generation.
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Royal watchers couldn’t help but notice that the youngest Wales sibling looked even more grown-up during his first public appearance this year. He and Prince George matched their father in dark blue suits, white shirts and light blue ties as the royal family stepped out for Easter Matins Service at St. George’s Chapel, located on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Castle.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/princess-charlotte-kate-middleton-prince-george-prince-louis-prince-william-040726-0a3437fe569b4a5b8cc84be5805426ff.jpg)
RELATED STORIES
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/prince-william-george-louis-princess-catherine-charlotte-buckingham-palace-ve-day-london-050525-b5fe6d92561d4e6481903b82731caaa8.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/GettyImages-2269936388-adb5749c105c48b8b2e6dacfd6921fbf.jpg)
