Photos released to commemorate Prince Louis’ 6th birthday

CNN
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Prince and Princess of Wales of the United Kingdom Prince Louis celebrated his 6th birthday on Tuesday and shared a new photo of him. This is the first photo released by Prince Louis’ family since the photo-editing scandal broke last month.

The photo shows Louis, who is fourth in line to the British throne, lying on a blanket and smiling at the camera.

The image, posted on the couple’s official social media accounts on Tuesday, was credited to Duchess Kate.

A royal source said the Welsh couple appreciated the birthday messages they had received for Louis, and the photo was taken by Kate, 42, in Windsor in recent days.

A source said: “These are unprecedented times for the Welsh family as the Princess continues her recovery.”

It has been a difficult time for the family, with Kate announcing last month that she was in the early stages of chemotherapy for cancer.

“The family was aware of the fact that the Princess had requested privacy during her recovery, but ultimately decided to take to her social media channels as a way of thanking those who sent her birthday wishes. We wanted to share the images,” the source said. The source continued.

Officials say the photo has not been edited. CNN Photo Desk analyzed the image and found that it had not been edited and found no inconsistencies or signs of editing in the photo.

It’s become something of a tradition for Prince William and Duchess Kate to celebrate their children’s birthdays by sharing new photos every year. Many of the past portraits were taken by Kate, who is an avid photographer herself.

However, there are some examples of contemporary portraits taken by famous professional photographers such as Mario Testino, Chris Jackson, and Millie Pilkington.

Every year, Welsh people have released celebratory photos of Louis to commemorate his birthday. He was last seen in public walking to church with his mother on the grounds of Sandringham on his family’s traditional Christmas day.

The latest official photo of the youngest member of the Welsh family is likely to come under intense scrutiny as it is the first since her Mother’s Day photo sparked a scandal last month.

Kensington Palace released an official family photo purported to have been taken by Prince William, but it was later revealed that it had been altered. The image was supposed to put an end to frenzied speculation over the princess’ whereabouts after she retreated from public life following abdominal surgery in January.

However, just hours after its release, several international news organizations stopped circulating the photo, citing concerns of source manipulation.

As eagle-eyed royal watchers continue to scrutinize potential conflicts, Duchess Kate, as many know, took responsibility for the chaos that ensued.

She dabbled in editing “like many amateur photographers” and would like to “apologize for the confusion” in a short statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).

A few weeks later, a second controversy erupted when another official photo was found to have been digitally manipulated.

Getty Images announced on March 19 that photos taken by Kate and released by the palace last year of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were also “digitally altered.” CNN’s analysis found signs of tampering in up to 19 locations.

The Princess revealed that a post-surgery test on March 22 revealed that she had cancer of unknown origin. “It’s been an incredibly difficult few months,” Duchess Kate said in her deeply personal video message asking for privacy from her public.

The family then kept a low profile during the Easter school holidays, but Prince William resumed royal duties last week.

During a visit to a surplus food redistribution center, the prince responded to receiving health cards for his wife and father and promised to “look after” Duchess Kate. Charles III also took a step back from his royal duties after revealing his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year.