After being silent on Instagram, Kate Middleton and Prince William shared a new photo of Prince Louis for his 6th birthday. Social media users have reacted to their birthday tribute.
Kate Middleton and Prince William have finally posted a new photo of their youngest son to commemorate him turning six. The move comes after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's palpable social media silence.
In the heartwarming picture, the youngest of the Wales kids is seen beaming widely at the camera, showing off his pearly whites. "Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! 🎂," expresses the caption before it goes on to thank everyone who has been wishing him a happy birthday.
Admirers have taken to the comment section of the post to wish Prince Louis a happy birthday. "Happy birthday Prince Louis - growing up quickly, lovely picture 🎉🎁," wrote a fan.
Similarly, another said, "Happy birthday Prince Louis! 🎈You are growing up so fast. I hope you have a great day. God bless you and your beautiful family ❤️."
"There's so much personality in his face. I bet he is wonderful to have as your baby 👶," remarked another well-wisher. Someone else marveled at the similarity between Prince Louis and Prince George, pointing out, "Louis looks so much like George here!"
Now, a royal expert has given a reason for the delay. The expert shared that Kate and Prince William likely had two reasons for keeping the birthday post to themselves for a while.
The expert shared that following Kate's revelation that she is battling cancer, there may have been discussions about what to do that would best exhibit her need for privacy as she recovers.
Another reason was that even though royal birthdays were usually celebrated with the release of photos, after the Mother's Day photo scandal, the photos of Prince Louis were withheld. The Mother's Day scandal included Kate being accused of bad photoshop.
This breaking news comes after we just reported that Kate and Prince William had not yet shared a birthday tribute to Prince Louis on his actual birthday or before, like they have done in the past.
Monday was cause for celebration within the British royal family as this was the date of Prince Louis's 6th birthday. Before April 23 (Prince Louis's birthday), eagle-eyed fans anticipated seeing a birthday post from his parents.
One person took to X to post a gif of Daffy Duck with a worried expression as he nervously patted his cheeks to show he was anxious about something. Alongside the gif, the X user captioned, "We right now … waiting for Prince Louis Birthday pictures."
"In 2016, KP shared Prince George's third birthday pictures in the morning so that's likely they will do the same for Louis tomorrow. I'm glad the press didn't get it tonight because they don't deserve it. Fingers crossed for tomorrow 🤞🏻," stated another person.
However, when April 23 arrived, no new pictures of Prince Louis were released yet, but some fans still clung to the hope that perhaps pictures would be posted later in the day. "Waiting to see if any photos get released of Prince Louis on his birthday," wrote a hopeful fan.
Referencing Prince Louis's parents, another asserted, "I hope the Prince and Princess of Wales don't allow the Mother's Day picture controversy to discourage them from releasing a birthday photo for Prince Louis's sixth birthday."
Alas, no photos surfaced online at that point, prompting someone else to express, "Disappointed we did not get a new photo of Prince Louis for his 6th Birthday. Was looking forward to it."
The Prince and Princess of Wales have shared birthday posts in celebration of Prince Louis in the past for every one of his birthdays.
They usually post adorable pictures of him on the day before his actual birthday with sweet and short messages like "A very happy birthday to Prince Louis."
In addition to the birthday posts, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also take pride in making their children's birthdays extra special with cake.
When previously asked who makes the birthday cakes for their kids, Kate Middleton revealed, "I love making the cake. It's become a bit of a tradition. I love it."
In another instance in which Kate received expert baking tips from "The Great British Baking Show's" Alice Fevronia, Alice confirmed, "She mentioned that she'd been up quite late on a couple of occasions trying to decorate the kids' birthday cakes."
Since Kate is quite the hands-on mother, especially when celebrating her kids' birthdays, many previously wondered why Prince Louis had not been celebrated publicly yet this year.
Before their recent birthday post, the official Instagram account for the Prince and Princess of Wales made their last post four days ago. The post is a video showing Prince William working closely with the Surplus to Supper charity. It spotlights the important work of delivering "freshly-cooked meals to local projects."
Why this used to be the most recent post on the page, instead of a Prince Louis birthday tribute was unknown. However, what is public knowledge is the fact that Prince Louis's mom, Kate, is currently facing a tough battle with cancer and undergoing treatment.
A battle she aims to shield her children from as much as possible. In Kate's cancer diagnosis reveal video, she stressed the importance of divulging hard-to-hear information to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis in a delicate manner.
"But most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that's appropriate for them and to reassure them that I'm going to be ok,” divulged Kate.
She revealed that she makes it a point to tell her children that she is "getting stronger every day" by focusing on things that will help heal her mind, body, and spirit.
Before disclosing these details in her cancer diagnosis video and before the recent public reaction to Prince Louis's 6th birthday, Kate, Prince Louis, and his siblings had already gone viral.
Their controversial Mother's Day photo sparked public outcry and speculation, which we previously reported on March 11, 2024. When Kate took a two-month hiatus from the public eye to recover from surgery, little did she know that her return would ignite a firestorm of speculation and intrigue.
The Mother's Day photo seemed to raise more questions than answers. In the photograph, Kate can be seen hugging her three children. However, upon closer inspection of the picture, fans noticed that kids were holding their fingers in a rather unusual way.
"Why’s Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte fingers crossed?" questioned a fan. "Prince Louis's fingers are crossed, what you do when you tell a lie. Is it a message?" another chimed in.
"Not to mention the fact that both George & Louis have their middle fingers crossed over their ring fingers & Charlotte has her ring finger crossed over her middle... But that's a level of possible symbolism I'm not well versed in," another fan remarked.
A lot of people believed that it was a message. Things have not been the greatest on the Middleton side of the family. First with Kate's public disappearance, and then with the lies regarding Prince William and the author of the photo.
Initially, it was announced that he was the one who took the picture of his wife and their kids, but later on, the information was discredited.
"Prince William lied about taking a photo of Kate Middleton and kids. Photo agencies say it’s fake. They have issued a Kill Notification," posted a user online.
While some worry about the misinformation being spread, others are concerned for the well-being of the family. Some believe that Prince Louis's finger sign was a reference to the "Truman Show." "And Prince Louis's fingers are crossed (throwback to the aha moment in "The Truman Show"?)!" commented a user.
In the famous movie starring Jim Carrey, there was a moment when the main character noticed something odd about his wedding photos. In the pictures, his wife Meryl has her fingers crossed while kissing him, revealing that she never had real feelings for him.
The fabricated marriage depicted in "The Truman Show" criticizes the media, mirroring real-world celebrity relationships that are faked purely for the sake of entertainment. In light of this and the details noticed fans speculated that the Wales kids were sending signs of their parents' relationship also being faked.
As speculation about the British royal family keeps everyone hooked, one thing is certain: the intrigue isn't fading. From the mystery surrounding Kate and her health to her children's curious gestures, each new detail adds more drama to the story.