Breaking Down How Prince William & Kate Middleton Have Shared Birthday Images of George, Charlotte, & Louis
Prince William and Kate Middleton have worked to ensure that Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis enjoy a childhood unencumbered by the photographers that plagued William’s youth. From taking legal action to issuing strongly worded public statements about intrusion, the couple has fought to stamp out unauthorized images of their family.
However, the future King and Queen also understand that there is interest in their lives, and as such have set a precedent for releasing images of their children each year for their birthdays. These images have often been taken by Kate, but not always. Indeed, the first five of George’s birthday pictures were taken by professional photographers.
The latest two pictures of Louis and Charlotte were released straight to social media on the day of their birthdays. Before that, the pictures have often been shared with British media under embargo on the eve of the big day to publish in newspapers on the day of the birthday.
Here is a reminder of how all the previous birthday images of George, Charlotte and Louis were released.
Prince George - July 22
George’s first birthday pictures saw him take center-stage alongside his mum and dad on a visit to the Sensational Butterflies exhibit at the Natural History Museum. Two images were shared, one of the Prince walking and one of George, William and Kate looking at the butterflies. They were taken by Press Association photographer George Stillwell and released to media under embargo for 10:30 p.m. on July 21. They were tweeted by Clarence House, which at that time managed William and Kate’s social media.
The Prince’s second birthday picture was also released on July 21, the day before his birthday, but this time without an evening embargo. Kensington Palace, which by this time had become William and Kate’s new home, tweeted the picture by Mario Testino taken for Princess Charlotte’s christening just after 2 p.m. in the afternoon.
When George turned three, Kensington Palace released four pictures on the day of his birthday, tweeting them at 9:30 a.m. They were taken by photographer Matt Porteous in Norfolk a few days earlier. One showed the Prince holding out an ice cream for dog Lupo and another was of him him standing on a wooden swing.
George’s fourth birthday picture was taken by news photographer Chris Jackson and released under an embargo of 10 p.m. on July 21. Professional photographer Matt Porteous took George’s fifth birthday image which was released on July 21 at 10.30 p.m.
It wasn’t until George’s sixth birthday that a picture was taken by Kate. Three photographs were shared, two showing the Prince in an England football shirt. The pictures were embargoed until 10:30 p.m. on July 21 when Kensington Palace tweeted.
The Prince’s seventh birthday was an almost identical set-up with two images taken by Kate released at 10:30 p.m. on July 21. And his 8th birthday followed the same pattern once again; this time one picture taken by Kate and released at 10:30 p.m.
When George marked a milestone 10 years, it was professional photographer Millie Pilkington who was chosen to take the pictures. An image of George sitting on some steps in Windsor was shared at 10:30 p.m. on July 21.
Princess Charlotte - May 2
When Charlotte turned one, Kensington Palace released four news images of her at 11 a.m. on May 1, the day before her birthday. Taken by Kate, they showed Charlotte at the family’s Norfolk home Anmer Hall. Charlotte’s second birthday picture was also taken by Kate at Anmer Hall and released on social media the day before her birthday, this time at 10 a.m.
Charlotte’s third birthday pictures were taken by Kate and showed her on the steps at Kensington Palace. They were posted on social media on the day of her birthday at 8:45 a.m. With Prince Louis having been born just days earlier, the picture was an old one of Charlotte from her first day of nursery that January.
Kate also took the pictures released for Charlotte’s fourth birthday, which were shared under embargo and posted on social media at 10:30 p.m. the day before. And Kate also photographed Charlotte when she turned five in a series of images showing the young royal volunteering during the coronavirus pandemic. They were released at 10:30 p.m. on May 1 with a bonus picture shared the following day on Charlotte’s birthday.
When Charlotte turned six, one photograph was released, again taken by Kate, and with a 10:30 p.m. embargo on May 1. And when she turned seven, three new pictures taken by Kate were shared at 10:30 p.m. on May 1 showing Charlotte in a field of bluebells, one with her posing alongside dog Orla.
It was’t until Charlotte’s 8th birthday that Kate handed over photography duties to a professional. One of the two images released was taken by Millie Pilkington. An image by Kate was first released at 10:30 p.m. on May 1 and the Pilkington one, which featured dog Orla, was shared the following day on her birthday.
Charlotte's ninth birthday picture was posted straight to social media on the morning of her birthday. Taken by Kate in Windsor in the days leading up to Charlotte's birthday, the image was released in the same way as Prince Louis's sixth birthday picture had been a few days earlier and not given to media in advance.
Prince Louis - April 23
Kate was behind the camera for Louis’s first birthday, sharing three images taken in Norfolk at 10.30pm on the eve of his birthday. The same approach was taken the following year when he turned two, with three photographs of the Prince and a bonus one of his artwork shared at 10.30pm on April 22.
When Louis turned three, Kensington Palace shared just one image taken by Kate of the Prince on his bike before he left for his first day of nursery. But a year later, four pictures were shared of the Prince in Norfolk as he turned four. Again they were posted at 10:30 p.m. on the eve of his birthday and again taken by Kate.
Prince Louis’s fifth birthday marked a change as Millie Pilkington was the photographer of the two images taken in Windsor and released at 10:30 p.m. on the eve of his birthday. But when he turned six most recently mum Kate was behind the camera once again. In these unprecedented and difficult times for the family, a picture was posted straight to social media with a message thanking people for their kind wishes.
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