Kate Middleton has shared a sweet birthday tribute to her husband Prince William as he celebrates turning 43-years-old today.
The adorable image shows the heir sitting in a field, while playing with a group of small puppies, whose mother is believed to be Orla, the Wales’ family dog.
In the image, the father-of-three is dressed casually, wearing jeans paired with a long-sleeved green button down shirt, as the puppies crawl over him sweetly.
The photograph is accompanied by a caption from the Princess of Wales and other members of their family.
It says: ‘Happy birthday! Love C, G, C, L, Orla and the puppies!’
It follows an earlier tribute to William shared by his father King Charles, in which the monarch shared an unseen image of the heir as well as a sweet message via the Royal Family‘s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
In the somewhat casual photograph, the Prince of Wales is seen looking pensive as he sits outside in a rural setting.
He is dressed in a button down pale blue shirt, as well as navy slacks – and in what may be a controversial move for some, he wears a very light beard.
The image was accompanied by a simple caption which read: ‘Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales!’.
The Prince of Wales has enjoyed a busy week in the lead-up to his birthday after last weekend’s Trooping The Colour and joining the Royal Ascot carriage procession on Wednesday.
However, he wasn’t joined by his wife at the Berkshire racecourse as expected after she pulled out of the event at the 11th hour.
She was said to be ‘disappointed’ at not attending the famous social and sporting occasion with her husband Prince William and the King and Queen.
Racegoers had been hoping to see the Princess after the Prince of Wales was named as one of the figures awarding race prizes during the second day of the meet.
Ascot officials had confirmed at 12pm that the Princess was due to be in the second carriage in the royal procession with William, in a published carriage list.
But less than half an hour later, Kensington Palace confirmed just before 12.30pm that Kate would not be attending – and a revised carriage list was published by Ascot.
MailOnline understands the Princess was ‘disappointed’ not to be in attendance ‘but she has to find the right balance as she fully returns to public facing engagements’.
In the past week Kate has attended three high-profile events – Trooping the Colour, the annual Order of the Garter service and a visit to a V&A storage facility in London.
It is a tradition for senior royals to have their birthdays marked with the release of photographs and messages.
Last year, Kate delighted royal watchers with the sweet portrait she shared to commemorate her husband’s birthday.
The fun portrait showed her husband excitedly leaping in the air with his three children. The image showed the family dressed in casual clothing – with William sporting a hoodie and shorts – as they grinned mid pose for the snap, taken by Kate in Norfolk in May 2024.
Kate accompanied it with a caption that read: ‘Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much!.’
