British Royal Family

Princess Charlotte turns 9! Palace celebrates her birthday with new photo taken by Kate Middleton

The only daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales turns 9 on May 2.

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A new photo of Princess Charlotte has been released for the young royal’s 9th birthday.

The Prince and Princess of Wales shared the photo of their daughter, whose birthday is May 2, on Instagram.

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"Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte!" the caption reads. "Thank you for all of the kind messages today."

The photo was taken by her mother, Kate Middleton.

In the picture, Charlotte wears a denim skirt paired with a red sweater and poses outside beside some blooming flowers.

In the comments section, royal fans pointed out how much Charlotte looks just like her father, Prince William.

"So like her dad x," one person wrote.

"William said copy and paste hahaha," another person commented.

This latest photo comes just over a week after the palace shared a new photo celebrating the birthday of Charlotte’s younger brother, Prince Louis, who turned 6 on April 23.

The cute pic of Louis was also snapped by his mom. 

A previous image of the royals edited by Kate was publicly scrutinized in March after multiple news agencies notified media outlets not to use the photo of Kate and her kids as it appeared to have been "manipulated."

The princess released an apology through the Kensington Palace X account, writing, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

This latest picture of Charlotte is the first official photo of the princess that has been shared in several months. 

On Dec. 25, the palace released a black-and-white photo of Charlotte with her siblings, Louis and Prince George, 10. In the holiday pic, Charlotte beamed ear to ear as she posed with one arm around each of her brothers’ shoulders.

The same day, the princess made an appearance with her parents and siblings at the traditional Christmas morning service at the church of St. Mary Magdalene near the royal Sandringham residence in Norfolk, England.

In July 2023, Charlotte also attended the Wimbledon men’s final with her mom and older brother, and she made headlines for her spirited reactions to the match. 

Releasing a new photo of their children for their birthdays has become a tradition for William and the former Kate Middleton.

For Charlotte’s 8th birthday, the palace released a smiling photo of the princess snapped by her mom. 

And for the princess’s 7th birthday, the palace shared three adorable photos of Charlotte sitting in a field of wildflowers, including one picture of her snuggling with the family dog, Orla.

The family of five has not appeared together in public since Catherine revealed in March she had been diagnosed with cancer.

The princess shared in a March 22 video message that she was in the “early stages” of a “course of preventative chemotherapy.”

The news came as a “huge shock,” the princess said, adding that it had been “an incredibly tough couple of months” for her “entire family.”

She also shared that it had taken her and William some time to explain “everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way” that is “appropriate for them and to reassure them” that she is going to be OK.

The princess finished by asking for “time, space and privacy” as she and her family navigate her health situation.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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