Princess Kate’s touching picture tribute to her ‘rock’ William with charming online post by their children – but sources say it is ‘delightful one-off’ from young royals

With arms intertwined as they look out at the Norfolk landscape they love so much, this charming Father’s Day photo taken by the Princess of Wales of her husband and their children is a tribute to her ‘rock’.

The accompanying social media post also includes the first ever post shared by Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis. It simply says: ‘We love you, Dad. Happy Father’s Day [with two love hearts] G, C & L’.

While many will be excited to see the young royals dip their toes into social media, sources are at pains to stress that this shouldn’t be seen as anything more than a glorious one-off.

The children – who also looked ecstatic to be out in public with their parents at Trooping the Color this weekend – just wanted to show their love for William on a special day after what has undoubtedly been a difficult time for them all.

However, the message marks the first time the children have been given such a platform to make a public statement like this to a global audience, and is a sign of their growing maturity as young royals.

The Father’s Day photo was taken by Kate (pictured as she arrived for the King’s Birthday Parade) on the beach at Anmer Hall, their home in Norfolk, last month during the summer holidays

(left to right) Prince George, the Prince of Wales, Prince Louis, the Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte and King Charles III on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, to watch the flypast after the Trooping the Color ceremony

For their father, who approaches his 42nd birthday next week, he has spent the past year stepping up to the plate as Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the throne, first dealing with his father’s devastating cancer diagnosis and then with that of his wife.

William has dropped his children off at school every day and cheered them on from the sidelines, trying to keep their young lives as normal as possible amid such deep personal turmoil.

As anyone who has cared for a loved one through cancer knows, the flood of emotions it brings can be difficult to bear.

William will undoubtedly have found inner reserves of strength and resilience that he didn’t even know he had.

The Father’s Day photo was taken by Kate, 42, on the beach at Anmer Hall, their home in Norfolk, last month during the summer holidays.

Dressed casually in shorts, hoodies and polo shirts – with a cap for William – its sweet simplicity makes it the kind of family photo many of us have in our albums.

Just weeks before Kate made public the news that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy, the family immediately traveled back to East Anglia to keep George, Charlotte and Louis away from the inevitable spotlight.

When the seriousness of her situation came to light, both William and Kate’s instinct was to shield their family as they tried to find the best way to break the news to their children in a friendly way and to allow them to to come to terms with it privately.

Norfolk’s vast open spaces, countryside and beaches have always been a balm to the family’s soul (in fact, friends have long told me they would move there permanently if they could).

Kate wrote a very personal message to the nation on Friday as she gave an update on her ongoing battle with cancer

The instinct of both William and Kate (pictured at the Trooping the Color ceremony) when the severity of her situation came to light was to shield their family.

The Prince of Wales shared a photo (photo) of himself playing football with the King on the occasion of Father’s Day

King Charles and Queen Camilla led the Father’s Day tribute this morning with a moving video montage of Charles and Philip (pictured)

In a message to the nation on Friday, the princess spoke of the journey she had been on.

She made a point of mentioning William by name and saying how much the messages of love and support they had received had meant to them both and helped them through “some of the tougher times.”

Friends say the couple are closer than ever and it was important for the princess personally to show what a ‘team effort’ it has been.

It is also clear, sources say, that her experience has been one for the family and Father’s Day was the perfect opportunity for both her and her children to highlight the role ‘Dad’ has played in it.

Yesterday, William also paid tribute to his own father by posting a photo of him and Charles playing football in the gardens of Kensington Palace.

The photo was taken shortly before his second birthday and shows a formally dressed Charles, as it was an official birthday photo shoot, on June 12, 1984 kicking a ball to his delighted son. William’s message read: ‘Happy Father’s Day, Dad. W’

A moving message was heard on behalf of the king at Buckingham Palace yesterday, as his own father, the Duke of Edinburgh, died in 2021 just before he turned 100.

Accompanying clips of black-and-white home movie footage show Charles with Philip as a young boy, as well as his grandfather King George VI and mother Queen Elizabeth in relaxed family moments. The message read: ‘Wishing all fathers, and those who may be missing their parents today, a relaxing Father’s Day.’