Kate Middleton and Prince William released a new photo of Prince Louis on Tuesday, April 23, in honor of his 6th birthday.
The photo, which was posted via Instagram, features the young royal posing on a blanket in the grass in a blue and yellow checked button down shirt and matching blue shorts.
The Prince and Princess of Wales captioned the post, “Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! 
Thank you for all the kind wishes today. 
The Princess of Wales.”
It comes as no surprise that Louis wore shorts for his birthday photo. Boys in the royal family traditionally exclusively wear shorts until they are around eight years old, at which point they graduate to full-length trousers.
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Louis has worn shorts at the vast majority of public events he has attended, although he began to wear trousers more often in 2023. Most notably, he wore a pair of blue and green tartan trousers on Christmas day that same year, which he paired with a blue wool coat and black shoes.
Prince Louis’ birthday portrait is the first time the royal family have shared a personal family photo since the Mother’s Day image of Kate and her three children — George, 10, Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 6 — was found to be photoshopped.
Days later, on March 22, Princess Kate, 42, revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing planned abdominal surgery in January. In a video uploaded to social media, she requested that the public respect her privacy as she undergoes treatment.
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“William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said in the video, adding, “We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment.”
Prince William, 41, returned to work on Friday, April 19, after taking time off from his official duties to focus on his family.
