Prince George Flashes a Big Smile in New 9th Birthday Portrait Taken by Mom Kate Middleton
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Prince George is showing off his smile in his latest birthday photo!
Prince William and Kate Middleton released a new portrait of their eldest son on Thursday in celebration of his upcoming birthday.
"George is turning 9!" the photo was captioned on social media, complete with a birthday cake and balloon emoji.
The photograph was taken while the family was on holiday in the U.K. earlier this month. In the shot, Prince George — closely resembling dad Prince William! — wears a blue polo shirt and flashes the camera a big grin.
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share a new photograph of Prince George ahead of his ninth birthday tomorrow," the couple said in a statement.
As in recent years, Kate acted as the photographer to capture the perfect birthday photo. The mom of three is also known to get behind the camera for the birthdays of Prince George's younger siblings, 7-year-old Princess Charlotte and 4-year-old Prince Louis.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/twitter Prince George
Prince William and Kate have released official portraits for every one of George's birthdays. When he turned 1, they issued a set of beautiful photos of him and his parents taken at London's Natural History Museum at a butterfly exhibit.
Last year to mark George's 8th birthday, Kate got behind the camera for a shot of the future monarch sitting on the hood of a car, grinning for the camera in a blue polo shirt with orange stripes.
The portrait appeared to have a subtle tribute to the birthday boy's great-grandfather Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 at age 99. Prince George seemed to be sitting on a Land Rover, a favorite car of Queen Elizabeth's husband — he even had his casket carried on a custom version of the vehicle for his funeral.
Prince George had an exciting start to his summer by making his Wimbledon debut on Sunday to watch the men's final with his parents. George sat front row in the Royal Box at Centre Court looking sharp in a suit and tie, and he even got to hold the coveted trophy when the family met winner Novak Djokovic.
Karwai Tang/WireImage Kate Middleton, Prince George and Prince William
This summer will likely include a big move for the family. Kate and Prince William are planning to relocate from Kensington Palace to a new residence some 30 miles west in Berkshire, the county that houses the Queen's primary residence, Windsor Castle. It has been widely reported that the family will occupy Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate, but that is unconfirmed.
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That also means that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will start a new school in the fall.
