- The royal family is celebrating Prince Louis' first birthday with a series of official portraits of the little prince.
- In the photos, which were taken by Kate Middleton, Prince Louis can be seen wearing two cute sweaters.
- Kate Middleton also took Princess Charlotte's first birthday portraits. And although she didn't take Prince George's first birthday photos, she has taken some of his official portraits.
It's hard to believe it's been a year since we welcomed Prince Louis into the world. And as the youngest member of the Cambridge family turns one on April 23, 2019, Kensington Palace has released a series of gorgeous new portraits.
Taken by his mother, Kate Middleton, Prince Louis looks incredibly grown up in every shot. Compared to Prince Charles' 70th birthday portraits in November 2018, and the Christmas Card photo sent by the Cambridges in 2018, Louis is already looking much more like his siblings.
Here, we take a look at how Prince Louis' first birthday portraits compare to Prince George's and Princess Charlotte's:
Prince George
While Kate seems to take the majority of photos of her three children now, that wasn't always the case. When the Cambridges celebrated Prince George's first birthday in July 2014 (his birthday is on July 22, while his portraits were taken on July 2), they had portraits taken at the Sensational Butterflies exhibition at the Natural History Museum.
The beautiful, candid shots show the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spending time with their first child, long before the family welcomed Princess Charlotte, and then Prince Louis.
As well as showing us George with his parents, we were also given solo shots of the prince taking some steps on his own:
As the years have gone by, Prince George's birthday portraits have gotten more personal, and have regularly been taken by his mother, sharing more in common with his sibling's photos.
Princess Charlotte
The day before Princess Charlotte turned one in 2016—her birthday is on May 2—Kensington Palace released four new photos of the little princess. All four photos were taken by Kate Middleton, and featured Charlotte playing in her house and garden.
From pushing a cart, to regally gazing off into the distance, Princess Charlotte perfected Blue Steel long before her first birthday:
Just like her siblings, Charlotte proved that she was effortlessly photogenic as she turned one:
In many ways, Princess Charlotte's first birthday photos have a lot in common with Prince Louis' portraits. Both sets of photos were taken by the Duchess of Cambridge, with both Charlotte and Louis photographed in their home or garden.
Meanwhile, Prince George was visiting the Natural History Museum when his first birthday portraits were taken, and the public setting gave his photos a slightly less personal feel.
Prince Louis
Much like his siblings, Prince Louis' birthday portraits give a relaxed look at the little royal. Playing outside, the prince models some seriously enviable looks, such as this dog sweater that I would legit buy if it came in my size:
Unlike brother George, Louis doesn't appear to walk on his own in any of his birthday snaps. However, he perfects the sit and stare pose that his sister, Charlotte, likely taught him:
A second shot of Louis makes it clear that the little prince is already on the move—grass cuttings cling to the front of his sweater, making it appear as though he's been crawling in the garden:
Overall, Prince Louis' first birthday portraits share much commonality with Princess Charlotte's and Prince George's. Plus, it's endearing to see how much the Cambridges have changed over the past few years, and that includes the way in which they have their official photos taken. Prince Louis' sweet little face is a welcome addition to the royal family, that's for sure.
Amy Mackelden is a freelance writer, editor, and disability activist. Her bylines include Harper's BAZAAR, Nicki Swift, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Independent, Bustle, Healthline, and HelloGiggles. She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics.
