New photo of Princess Charlotte features the same £42 cardigan she wore in Kate Middleton’s controversial Mother’s Day snap
Princess Charlotte turns nine today, and although she was dressed casually for her birthday portrait, her mother Kate made sure she chose pieces with an air of “quiet luxury.”
The princess, who is third in line to the throne, beamed in the adorable photo, which her mother Kate Middleton took to mark her special day, wearing a £42 raspberry cardigan from Parisian brand Cyrillus, teamed with a denim skirt from the same label.
The chic brand specializes in ‘couture-inspired’ pieces that ‘make chic and beautiful elegance accessible’.
She completed her ensemble with a navy blue wool sweater with floral collar and navy blue tights.
Eagle-eyed royal watchers will recognize the cardigan from the controversial Mother’s Day photo of Kate and her children, which was later pulled by photo agencies because it had been digitally manipulated.
Princess Charlotte wore the wool cardigan, which she previously wore in Kate’s controversial Mother’s Day portrait, again for her ninth birthday portrait on Thursday
The denim skirt was also worn again and featured in photos of Charlotte visiting a baby bank near Windsor at Christmas 2023 – paired with another red top from Cyrillus.
The princess’ long blonde locks fell loose around her shoulders as she flashed a cheeky grin at the camera.
The little boy appeared to pay a sweet tribute to her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as she posed next to pale pink flowers named after her.
The flowers – known as Clematis montana var. rubens cultivar – are one of the first plants named after the monarch, as reported by Gardens Illustrated.
A winning combination! At Christmas 2023, Charlotte wore the same denim skirt as in her birthday portrait while visiting a baby bank near Windsor. It was combined with another red top of Cyril
The photo was posted to the royal couple’s official X account, formerly known as Twitter, with the words “Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte!” Thanks for all the sweet messages today and a cake emoji.
Charlotte was previously spotted in the beautiful cardigan in Kate’s controversial Mother’s Day portrait.
In March, royal fans went into meltdown after the Associated Press issued a kill notice on a photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children that was released for Mother’s Day.
It was the first official photo published of Kate after she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
That evening, the Associated Press became the first agency to “destroy” the photo due to an “inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
Charlotte was previously spotted in the beautiful cardigan in Kate’s controversial Mother’s Day portrait
It looked like Charlotte’s hand was copied from another photo because there was an empty space where her sleeve should be
Charlotte’s hair seemed to end abruptly at her shoulder on her right side, despite her hair continuing a few inches on the left side
Although AP said there was no suggestion the photo was fake, it withdrew the photo because closer inspection revealed that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet the agency’s photo standards.
The most common ‘edit errors’ found were Kate’s missing wedding ring, Charlotte’s blurry skirt and her partially missing sleeve on her cardigan and Kate’s misaligned zipper.
The next day, the Princess of Wales admitted that she had edited the Mother’s Day photo herself and apologized for “any confusion” this had caused.
A statement from the Princess of Wales said: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.
“I wanted to apologize for any confusion the family photo we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone who celebrated had a happy Mother’s Day. C’
For their daughter’s birthday last year, the couple released two photos of a radiant Charlotte. In one shot, she gave her mother a gap-toothed grin to mark the occasion
In another photo, she was pictured in a blue and white striped sweater from Boden as she snuggled up with the family’s beloved black cocker spaniel Orla.
Two weeks later, the Princess of Wales announced she was battling cancer – amid mounting pressure on the palace to comment on her condition.
It is believed that the Princess of Wales announced her cancer diagnosis on March 22, as this was the day George, Charlotte and Louis left Lambrook School in Bracknell for their Easter holidays.
The announcement may have been timed so that her children did not immediately face questions on the playground after the news became public.
The family are said to have spent the Easter holidays together as they adjusted to Kate’s diagnosis, which was discovered during post-operative tests following her major abdominal surgery.
Meanwhile, fans around the world who were eagerly awaiting a new photo of Charlotte on her birthday had to wait a little longer than they had hoped for a photo.
Today, Kate and William broke with tradition for the second time in weeks by delaying the publication of her birthday portrait until late morning on the big day.
Kensington Palace normally releases portraits of the Welsh children at midnight to celebrate their birthdays, but Charlotte’s photo, which was taken by her mother, was held back.
The Princess of Wales recently revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing major abdominal surgery in London in January
William has stepped up royal duties in Kate’s absence. Pictured: Prince William and Princess Kate are seen during a ceremonial welcome for the President and First Lady of the Republic of Korea during the Horse Guards Parade on November 21 last year
Mother-of-three Kate, who is undergoing cancer treatment, also delayed the release of a photo of her youngest son, Prince Louis, last month to mark his sixth birthday, with the image not appearing until the afternoon.
The Mail’s Rebecca English revealed that the couple had initially decided not to release a photo of Louis at all, given their recent calls for privacy at such an ‘unprecedented’ time for their family, but changed their minds as they wanted to thank fans for their kindness wishes Prince Louis.
And speaking to The Express, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added that once they decided to release a photo, there were probably a lot of discussions about the best approach, given the furor over Kate’s edited Mother’s Day photo.
Overall, Richard said the timing “could emphasize Kate’s need for time, space and privacy.”
He described the ‘annoyed’ issue of her Mother’s Day portrait, describing the response as a ‘very embarrassing slight’.
He added that not rushing a birthday photo of Louis could also “highlight her need for time, space and privacy, which she so movingly expressed” in the video message revealing she has cancer.
Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales explained how the cancer cells were discovered as she underwent surgery for another condition in January.
She explained that she hadn’t talked about it before because she wanted time to “explain everything” to George, Charlotte and Louis and assure them, “I’ll be fine.”