The royals broke tradition with Prince Louis' birthday photos this year

Each year the Prince and Princess of Wales share a portrait or two of their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, on social media to celebrate their birthdays (and to give royal enthusiasts the chance to coo over how grown up they've gotten since the last ones were shared!).

This year, in honour of Prince Louis' fifth birthday, things were no different on that front, with a two photos of the youngster larking around in a wheelbarrow and looking sweet in a knitted blue sweater were posted to the @princeandpricessofwales Instagram account, along with the caption: "Someone's turning 5 tomorrow… 🎂 🥳 A very happy birthday to Prince Louis."

However, there was one key difference to the portraits offered up of the Wales' youngest child this year... Did you spot it?

Typically, the Princess herself is the one behind the camera, producing magical shots of her two sons and daughter, which are then later shared with the public – a tradition that has been going on since they were babies, and is something that royal experts have speculated is so the Wales family are able to enjoy special moments with one another without intrusion from the outside press.

However, this year, the images of Louis were captured by Millie Pilkington, a photographer who regularly shoots for Country Life and is known for her black and white portraits of children. The first photo of Louis in the wheelbarrow also features a cameo from the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, herself too – which again is a break from the norm when compared to previous years, as bar the odd pet, the Wales children's portraits tend to feature them solo.

Posting about the experience of capturing the youngest Wales child for his birthday, Pilkington wrote on her own Instagram account, "Excited to share with you a couple of portraits of Prince Louis, to celebrate his 5th birthday today. Thanking @princeandprincessofwales for entrusting me with this shoot. #trulyhonoured And wishing Prince Louis the very happiest of birthdays."

It's not known why the Princess of Wales decided to hand the reigns over to another photographer on this occasion, but I think we can all agree the resulting images are incredibly sweet and look just as personal as last year's snaps (which were taken by Kate).

Happy birthday for yesterday, Prince Louis!

You Might Also Like

• A ranking of the very best hair straighteners - according to our Beauty Editors

• Best party dresses to shop in the UK right now

• 11 products you'd be mad to miss from the Net A Porter beauty sale