As everyone expected - and hoped - the Prince and Princess of Wales have just released a special picture to mark Princess Charlotte turning 10 on 2nd May. Unlike her brother Prince Louis’ recent seventh birthday snap, this one was taken by the future Queen.
Alongside a message wishing their daughter a happy birthday, she and Prince William posted the photo of Charlotte sitting on a hillside under rolling clouds.
The young royal is beaming at the camera and wearing a leaf-print, camo-esque jacket that blends in with her picturesque surroundings. On her back is a practical blue rucksack and multiple reports have claimed that the picture was snapped in Cumbria earlier this year.
This isn’t the only thing that’s been suggested about the adorable photo. According to the BBC, Princess Charlotte’s tenth birthday picture was apparently taken by Kate on her iPhone. This ties in with my main takeaway from the snap - which is just how low-key and personal it is.
We’ve seen Prince William and Kate share personal snaps before, from the Father’s Day picture of the Wales kids all joyfully jumping on their dad, to the future King jumping above the sand dunes in Norfolk with them in his 2024 birthday photo.
But Princess Charlotte’s photo feels very different to me. The collared shirts and cardigans we’ve seen her wear so many times for birthday portraits have gone and have been replaced with the very casual Jack Pyke Junior Jacket and rucksack.
Even in Prince Louis’ picture just days ago he was wearing a smart shirt and jumper, but his sister’s outfit is so off-duty. It was clearly taken on some sort of family holiday and it feels very natural and un-staged.
It’s exactly the kind of photo I could imagine any mother taking of their child during a trip away and having on their phone. The fact that Kate and Prince William chose to release it as their daughter’s official picture is enlightening.
The couple have been taking a more down-to-earth approach to royal life since becoming Prince and Princess of Wales. This has only become more of a focus for them following the Princess’ cancer diagnosis and treatment last year.
In January she confirmed that she was in remission and since then, family and nature have been at the heart of a lot of Waleses’ decisions and posts. The day before Charlotte’s birthday they shared a video on Instagram in honour of May Day and teased something exciting coming up.
The clip features beautiful snapshots of nature and Kate also changed up her Mother’s Day post for 2025 and used it to celebrate Mother Nature. Princess Charlotte’s 10th birthday photo showed her out in the Cumbrian countryside.
The Princess recently described the natural world as being a “sanctuary” and last year, when Kate confirmed she had completed cancer treatment and shared a video by Will Warr, she spoke about how her perspective had slightly changed.
"This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved," she declared.
Family time and time out in nature has never been more important to Prince William and Kate than it is now. I think the new photo of Princess Charlotte reflects this pretty perfectly and helps to showcase their priorities going forward.
