Kate Middleton's Birthday Photo of Princess Charlotte Contains a Sweet Tribute to Queen Elizabeth

Kate Middleton got behind the camera for Princess Charlotte's new birthday photo, which features a nod to late matriarch Queen Elizabeth.

On May 2, Princess Kate and Prince William released a new photo of their daughter in honor of her 9th birthday. "Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! 🎂 Thank you for all of the kind messages today," read the caption of the snap shared across the coupe's social media channels. 

The picture taken by proud mom (and self-described "enthusiastic amateur photographer") Kate showed Charlotte smiling and leaning on a garden fence with pink flowers blossoming beside her.

A close look reveals that the flowers are Clematis Elizabeth, which Gardens Illustrated reported is one of the first plants named after Queen Elizabeth. Known to bloom in late spring and early summer, it is a "strong climber with pale pink flowers and a delicate scent" and holds a Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit award.

A dedicated patron of the gardening charity, Queen Elizabeth became patron of the RHS upon her accession in 1952 and regularly attended the Chelsea Flower Show, the society's flagship event, over 50 times during her historic reign. Her last visit was in May 2022, when she explored the event in a golf cart.

When their daughter was born in 2015, Prince William, 41, and Princess Kate, 42, honored the Queen by naming her Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Her second middle name is a tribute to her late grandmother, Princess Diana.

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Queen Elizabeth had a special bond with Princess Charlotte right away, Princess Kate revealed in the 2016 documentary The Queen at Ninety.

Recalling Charlotte's birth in 2015, Kate said, "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."

Princess Charlotte inherited Queen Elizabeth's love of horses, and the young royal sentimentally sported a horseshoe brooch gifted by her great-grandmother at the monarch's funeral in September 2022.

The new image of Princess Charlotte was released a week after the Princess of Wales picked up the camera for another family celebration: Prince Louis’ 6th birthday. Like his big sister's 9th birthday picture, Prince Louis' special portrait was taken outdoors in Windsor by Kate and released on his birthday. The photo showed Louis smiling (revealing a lost tooth!) and lying on a blanket in the grass.

Before Louis' big day, there was uncertainty over whether the Prince and Princess of Wales would continue a tradition they've maintained since Prince George, 10, was a baby, and release a new picture for his birthday. When a photo that William took of Kate with their kids for Mother's Day in the U.K. after the image was pulled from multiple global photo agencies due to suspicion of manipulation, Princess Kate released a statement sharing that she does "occasionally experiment with editing" and apologized for "any confusion."

The back-to-back release of Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte's birthday photos confirms a continuation of tradition for now, but protocol around the publication differed in one key way: the images came on the children's actual birthdays.

In the past, the Prince and Princess of Wales almost always shared the portraits on the eve of their children’s birthdays. It's understood that the new protocol introduced on Prince Louis' birthday stemmed from a desire for privacy after the Princess of Wales announced on March 22 that she was undergoing treatment for cancer. She similarly expressed the sentiment in her self-written speech.

"We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment," Princess Kate said in the video message.

On May 2, photographer Millie Pilkington shared a sweet compliment for the Princess of Wales' latest birthday shot of her daughter. The Prince and Princess of Wales have previously tapped the photographer for birthday portraits of their kids, and she recently took the official portrait of King Charles and Queen Camilla released for the first anniversary of their coronation. Years before, Pilkington also attended Prince William and Princess Kate's royal wedding — and snapped the previously unseen photo they released for their 13th wedding anniversary this week! 

"Happy birthday dear Princess Charlotte. Such a beautiful photo taken by your very talented mother. Have a wonderful day! ❤️❤️❤️," Pilkington wrote below Princess Charlotte's new birthday picture.