Prince Louis is celebrating his sixth birthday today and a new photo of the youngster has been released for royal fans; The charming snap shows Louis grinning at the camera as he lies barefoot on a blanket on the grass

Prince Louis is celebrating his sixth birthday today and a new photo of the youngster has been released for royal fans.

Since his birth on April 23, 2018, it has been customary for Kensington Palace to share an adorable snap of the young prince, taken by his mother, to mark each of his birthdays. There had been fears that this year a photo would not be forthcoming but shortly after midday a snap of the smiling six year old emerged on the royal feed. It comes after controversy when the last family portrait was shared.

A heartwarming photo of Kate with her three children George, 10, Charlotte, 8, and Louis was published in honour of Mother’s Day on March 10 but shortly after its release, several global picture agencies withdrew the image amid concerns over its editing. They pointed out irregularities such as the alignment of Charlotte’s hand, the lay of her skirt, and the placement of Kate’s zipper.

The Princess of Wales later owned up to altering the photo and extended her apologies “for any confusion”, explaining: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.” Last year the Waleses shared an adorable photo of Kate pushing Louis around in a wheelbarrow on his birthday.

And an aide last month, amid speculation over a birthday photo, reportedly said the Waleses ‘appreciate the public’s love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays’. But they added that “no firm” decision had been made on the photo.

The charming snap shows Louis grinning at the camera as he lies barefoot on a blanket on the grass. It was taken in the last few days in Windsor by Kate, who announced last month that she is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer. It has become tradition for William and Kate to release photos of their children on their birthdays – although this time, the photo of Louis was posted straight to social media, marking a change in the way the Wales family usually issue these images.

The photo comes some six weeks after the furore surrounding the Mother’s Day portrait which the princess admitted editing. The family snap – the first official one showing Kate since her abdominal surgery in January – was withdrawn by picture agencies over concerns it had been manipulated after discrepancies were spotted in the photograph.