Princess Catherine has released a photo of Prince Louis on his sixth birthday.
The image portrays a beaming Prince Louis and was shared across social media platforms accompanied by the caption: "Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! Thank you for all the kind wishes today."
The image is believed to have been taken at Windsor within the last few days, as reported by Sky News.
Sources close to the royal family revealed that the decision to release the image directly on social media has a double purpose: expressing gratitude for the outpouring of well wishes while safeguarding their privacy.
This departure from the customary practice of providing pre-released images to the press under embargo is anticipated to be repeated for Princess Charlotte's upcoming birthday in May.
Insiders suggest that this alteration in protocol is a response to the unique challenges the royal family currently faces.
In recent months, the family has navigated significant events, including the announcement of Catherine's cancer diagnosis, prompting the Princess of Wales to embark on preventative chemotherapy.
Prince Louis's most recent public appearance dates back to Christmas Day when the Royal Family gathered for their customary festive outing on the King's Sandringham Estate to attend church.
The unveiling of the birthday portrait follows Prince William's return to official duties last week.
During his visit to a food distribution charity, Surplus to Supper, located in Surrey, the prince actively participated in the preparation of meals.
Earlier this month, Prince William and his eldest son, Prince George, were spotted attending an Aston Villa soccer game together, marking their first public appearance since the news of Princess Catherine's illness broke.
Regarding the Princess of Wales' cancer diagnosis, she opted to share the news on the Friday before the Easter holidays so that her children would not need to face any extra attention while at school.
The timing of the announcement was specifically chosen to let the attention around their mother die down before they had to face their peers on the playground.
In her statement, Catherine told the public: "I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
She continued: "It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I've had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous.
"The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."
She added: "This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family."
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