A new photo of Prince Louis was released Tuesday to mark the young British royal's 6th birthday. It is the first image released by the family since the photo-editing scandal erupted last month.
In the photo, Louis, who is the fourth in line to the British throne behind his father and two older siblings, can be seen lying on a blanket while grinning at the camera. The photo is said to have been taken by his mother Catherine, the Princess of Wales.
"Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! Thank you for all the kind wishes today," said the post accompanying the image shared on Kensington Palace's social media accounts.
The family has typically released photos of the young royals to mark birthdays to news outlets in advance, but this year, with both Kate and her father-in-law King Charles III undergoing cancer treatment, they took a slightly different approach, posting the image of Louis directly on their official social media accounts on his birthday.
William and Kate, who have requested privacy as they deal with the family's medical issues, thanked people for their well-wishes in a short message posted with the photo of Louis.
Last month, a scandal arose when Kensington Palace unveiled a family portrait of Kate and her three children on Britain's Mother's Day that had been extensively altered, sparking concerns about transparency and truthfulness.
Various international photo agencies removed the picture from their platforms, with some even excluding Kensington Palace from their roster of reliable sources. Kate confessed to modifying the photo in a subsequent social media post.
This incident occurred during a period when Kate had been absent from public view for several months, recovering from what the palace described as scheduled abdominal surgery in January.
By the end of March, amidst swirling rumors about her well-being, Kate disclosed in a video message that cancer had been detected post her surgery, and she is presently undergoing preventative chemotherapy based on her medical team's recommendation. She did not disclose the type of cancer or provide further details about her diagnosis.
"This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," Kate said in the video message. "As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK."
The family kept a low profile over the Easter school holidays, but William resumed official duties last week.
