Princess Charlotte, the second child of Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, is celebrating her 9th birthday.
Kensington Palace on Thursday released a new photo taken by Kate in Windsor in the last few days, according to the palace.
The photo was shared on social media with the caption, “Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! Thank you for all the kind messages today.”
Charlotte was born May 2, 2015. The young royal made her public debut just hours after her birth at St. Mary’s Hospital in London.
Her full name, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, is a tribute to her late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and late grandmother Princess Diana.
She is the only daughter of William and Kate, who also have two sons, Princes George, 10, and Louis, who turned 6 last week.
Charlotte is expected to spend her 9th birthday privately with her family in Windsor, where they now live.
In an interview several months after Charlotte’s birth, Kate spoke about how excited family members, including the late queen, were to have a girl join the family.
“The queen was really thrilled that it was a little girl, and I think as soon as we came back here to Kensington, she was one of our first visitors here,” Kate said in an interview with ITV in 2016.
“It’s very special having a new little girl,” she added. “I feel very, very lucky that George has got a little sister.”
As she has grown older, Charlotte has made more public appearances with her parents and her brothers.
In 2022, she attended one of her first royal engagements with her parents, joining William, Kate and George on a visit to Cardiff Castle during Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebration.
Both she and George joined William and Kate for the queen’s funeral later that year. Charlotte wore a horseshoe brooch to the funeral, a gift from Elizabeth, who had a love of horses.
The next year, Charlotte was joined by her two brothers George and Louis at the coronation for their grandfather King Charles III at Westminster Abbey.
Charlotte’s most recent public appearance was in December, when she joined her family on their traditional walk to the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.
The family has remained mostly out of the public eye since then.
Both Kate and William have taken time off from public duties this year due to Kate’s health. Kate underwent abdominal surgery in January and then announced in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
The type of cancer has not been disclosed. According to Kensington Palace, Kate started a course of preventative chemotherapy in late February.
At a royal engagement on Tuesday, William responded to a well-wisher who asked about his family by saying, “We are all doing well, thank you.”
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