Happy birthday, Prince Louis!

Kate Middleton and Prince William’s youngest child celebrated his eighth birthday on Thursday, April 23. The family marked the occasion by continuing a royal tradition, sharing a new photo of the young prince.

The picture, taken earlier this month during a family vacation to the scenic seaside region of Cornwall, was captured by one of William and Kate’s go-to photographers, Matt Porteous, and shows Louis all smiles, with wind-blown hair, wearing a three-quarter blue zip-up sweater.

Prince Louis portrait for his 8th birthday taken in Cornwall in April 2026.Matt Porteous

In honor of the occasion, Prince William and Princess Kate also shared a new video of Prince Louis playing sports and spending time at the beach.

The Prince and Princess of Wales release a portrait of each of their three children — Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis — every year as a way of acknowledging well-wishers who reach out to wish them a happy birthday. While professional photographers sometimes take the snaps for the family, Kate, 44, has also gotten behind the camera for the annual photos.

Last year’s birthday portrait marked a notable, grown-up change for Louis. In addition to missing his two front teeth, he was also wearing jeans, marking the first time that the young prince wore long pants rather than shorts in a birthday picture.

It’s classic fashion for upper-class boys in Britain to wear shorts with knee socks instead of pants — even in cold weather. Both Prince William, 43, and Prince Harry, 41, wore shorts with long socks when they were young, and Prince George and Prince Louis continued the trend into the next generation.

Royal watchers couldn’t help but notice that the youngest Wales sibling looked even more grown-up during his first public appearance this year. He and Prince George matched their father in dark blue suits, white shirts and light blue ties as the royal family stepped out for Easter Matins Service at St. George’s Chapel, located on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Princess Charlotte, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Prince Louis and Prince William attend Easter service at St. George’s Chapel on April 5, 2026.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

There are some big changes ahead for the Prince and Princess of Wales’ family this year. Prince George turns 13 in July and will continue his education at a new school. The frontrunners are thought to be Eton College, William’s alma mater, or Marlborough College, where Kate attended, while Charlotte and Louis continue at Lambrook School.

Prince Louis, with his mom Princess Kate at Westminster Abbey in December 2025.Aaron Chown – Pool/Getty

Despite the fact that George is on a unique path as the eventual heir to the throne, a royal biographer recently said that Prince William — in the midst of a years-long feud with his own brother, Prince Harry —is committed to avoiding the “spare problem” with his younger children.

“I am told that the heir to the throne, Prince William, is preoccupied with the built-in risk of primogeniture’s cruelty,” Princess Diana biographer and former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Tina Brown wrote in a March installment of her Substack, Fresh Hell.

“He is determined that his second- and third-born children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are well-prepared and well-financed for independent lives and will not fall into the same cycle of thwarted freedom,” alleged the author of The Diana Chronicles.