The Prince of Wales matched with his three children in blue in a new portrait taken by Millie Pilkington
Millie Pilkington/Kensington Palace
Prince William is having a royal Father’s Day.
The Prince of Wales — who is dad to Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, with his wife Kate Middleton — marked this year's holiday by releasing a never-before-seen photo with his three children. In the candid snap, Prince William smiles at the camera with his arms around Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who look up adoringly at their father. Meanwhile, Prince Louis stands behind William with his arms wrapped around him — and a giant grin!
There was also a special touch honoring Queen Elizabeth, Prince William's late grandmother, in the photo. The Wales family sits on a bench that was a gift for Queen Elizabeth’s 90th Birthday in 2016.
According to Kensington Palace, the new photograph was taken on the Windsor Estate earlier this year by Millie Pilkington. From the looks of the royal children's wardrobes, the image was taken on the same day as the photo shoot that produced Prince Louis' 5th birthday portraits released in April. Prince Louis is wearing the same blue sweater over a checkered shirt — and it seems the entire family coordinated in the hue.
Kate, 40, did not appear in the Father's Day portrait, but royal watchers did get a glimpse of her ensemble in a portrait shared for Louis' birthday. In a photo where the royal mom pushes her son in a wheelbarrow, she sports a white and blue striped sweater.
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The new portrait was released on Saturday just hours after Prince William, Princess Kate and their three children marked Trooping the Colour, the celebration and parade marking King Charles' birthday, as a family in London.
Although Prince William rode on horseback while Princess Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis hopped in a carriage for the procession, he had some dad moments when the family of five stood together on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a flypast. At one point, Prince William shared a sweet moment with his only daughter — when he placed his hands on her shoulders from behind, Charlotte took his hands in her own and pulled him in closer.
Meanwhile, Prince George excitedly pointed out planes to his father as they passed overhead.
Chris Jackson/Getty
In honor of Father’s Day last year, Kensington Palace released another never-before-seen photo of the royal and his three kids. The snap was taken during the family’s private trip to Jordan in 2021, where Princess Kate lived from age 2 to 4 for her father Michael Middleton's job at British Airways.
While the trip abroad was first revealed in the family's 2021 Christmas card, the Father’s Day picture was a new shot from the same photo shoot. In the image, taken in the desert, Prince William put a loving arm around Prince George on one side and Princess Charlotte on the other, with Prince Louis playfully perched on his shoulders. William gave a grin, while his kids smiled even wider with laughter.
"Happy Father's Day to fathers and grandfathers across the world today!" the Instagram snap was captioned.
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This year, Father’s Day falls just three days before another celebration for the Prince of Wales — his 41st birthday!
Prince William turns 41 on June 21, and the holiday dedicated to dads has previously fallen on his birthday. William had a double celebration in 2015 and 2020 when Father’s Day coincided with his date of birth. The royal was a newly minted father of two the first time around, as Princess Charlotte was just a 1-month-old infant.
Princess Kate recently spoke about the differences in their children’s personalities while visiting The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust in May to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.
The royal mom spent time with teens who benefit from mentoring from sports stars, including Dame Kelly Holmes. Holmes, a record-setting track Olympian and founder of the center, told PEOPLE that Kate made the relatable revelation when George, Charlotte and Louis came up in conversation.
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"I asked her, 'You've got three children — do you see different traits in them?' And she said, 'Oh, yes!' She said that's the thing — learning how to handle the different traits and different needs and abilities even with three young children," Holmes said.
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