Princess Kate breaks birthday tradition for Prince George with another major change
The Prince and Princess of Wales broke another long-standing tradition with the release of a new photograph of Prince George to mark his 11th birthday on Monday.
While there has always been a precedent for Prince William and Kate to share official images under embargo to the press on the eve of their children's birthdays, the new portrait of George was posted straight to social media on his birthday on 22 July.
It's a long-running tradition the couple first changed back in April for Prince Louis' sixth birthday, with the photograph of the youngster lying barefoot on a blanket on the grass shared on their X and Instagram accounts on his special day on 23 April.
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William and Kate proceeded to do the same for Princess Charlotte's ninth birthday on 2 May.
The change in the way the Waleses release new photographs of their children was understood to be due to the unprecedented time the family is experiencing amid Kate's ongoing cancer treatment, with her diagnosis first revealed in March.
It also avoided the uproar sparked by the Princess's digitally altered Mother's Day photo. Kate issued a public apology in March when an image William took of the Princess with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis was found to have been edited.
The portrait was withdrawn by picture agencies over concerns it had been manipulated after discrepancies were spotted in the photograph.
Breaking another royal tradition
In another major change, Kate, who has long taken the official photographs of her children, chose to take the snap of black and white in another departure from tradition.
Pictures of George, Charlotte and Louis have always been released in colour, but this time the future king was snapped in black and white as he smiled on a stone bench on the family's estate in Windsor.
It comes after William and Kate asked photographer and friend, Millie Pilkington, to take the official photograph of George on his milestone tenth birthday in 2023.
The image showed the young prince, wearing a checked shirt and khaki trousers, sitting on some steps in the gardens at Windsor.
George's last public appearance
The Prince travelled to Berlin in Germany with his father William to cheer on England in the Euro 2024 final, but sadly encountered heartbreak as they were defeated by Spain.
William also took George and Charlotte to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert at Wembley stadium – which coincided with William's 42nd birthday.
The royals were pictured smiling with the US singer in a backstage selfie, while Taylor's boyfriend, American football player Travis Kelce, said the royal children were "an absolute delight".
George also joined his family, including mum Kate, at Trooping the Colour in June to mark the King's official birthday.
