Portrait of a cricket-loving prince with a sweet tooth, that almost didn't happen. While he still possesses the same warm eyes, infectious smile, and general zest for life that have repeatedly stolen the show at Royal events, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales is now big enough to wear Prince George's grown-up hand-me-downs. In this case, it's a Pep & Co-owned company checked shirt. In a delightful new portrait taken by Kate, Prince Louis, much like A.A. Milne's famous poem "Now We Are Six," is said to be thriving at his new school, Lambrook in Berkshire. He's proving to be not just good in class but sporty and fun. Cricket is his big love at the moment.
Born on April 23rd, 2018, in the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital Paddington, weighing a very healthy 8lb 7oz, Louis has, like so many younger siblings, always been the star of the show. Whether dramatically holding his hands over his ears at his great granny's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, naughtily thumbing his nose at Mummy, or pinching his nose at last year's Trooping the Colour, it's impossible not to be entertained by his theatrics. When his father, Prince William, proudly speaks about his offspring, Louis' name is often accompanied by an affectionate rolling of the eyes, indicating how much of a live wire he is in private too.
But when I was covering a visit by the Wales family as they helped renovate a Scout Hut over the Coronation weekend last year, I was genuinely blown away, both as a mother and as a journalist, at how well Louis behaved. Indeed, all three of the children had impeccable manners. Louis got stuck in with a pot of emulsion paint, something I never would have let my 5-year-old do, let alone in front of the world's media. He painted a planter, frowning with concentration in acknowledgement of the importance of his task, and he couldn't wait to help out with a shovel, shifting spadefuls of sand into a wheelbarrow before insisting on pushing it by himself around the corner to a group of fellow volunteers who were laying a new path. What was amazing in the circumstances was the freedom that William and Kate gave Louis, who at one point careered past me with his barrow, determined to keep up his work without a parent, carer, or even police officer in sight. He was deterred from his task only by the sight of his big brother sitting with their papa at the controls of a digger, whereby he promptly demanded he get a turn. Understandably, one might think.
In an adorable video I took, Louis eagerly grabbed fistfuls of marshmallows to toast before pretending to mock faint when he tried a small dash — a nice marshmallow sandwiched with chocolate between two digestive biscuits. It even went viral.
Yesterday's new photograph of the scene-stealing birthday boy was taken by his mother in the last few days in Windsor, where the family lives in cozy Adelaide Cottage. It shows Louis in shorts and George's checked shirt, his feet bare, smiling into the camera without a care in the world. His dark brown hair has been neatly combed to one side, and his tongue slightly peeks through the gap in his bottom teeth.
Normally, the couple issues a photograph of each of their children to mark their birthdays in advance for use by the media on the day itself. This year, they had initially decided not to issue one at all, given their recent appeals for privacy at such an unprecedented time for their family. The Princess, 42, is continuing her recovery from major abdominal surgery in January and undergoing preventative chemotherapy for the cancer that doctors subsequently discovered. However, it is understood that she and William changed their minds about the picture overnight, as they were keen to thank the public and express their gratitude for all the messages they have received on Louis' behalf. The picture is understood to have been unedited deliberately, following the furor that resulted over the Princess's photoshopped Mother's Day picture, which was withdrawn by international picture agencies. She later apologized for the confusion.
