REAL LIFE? SORT OF!

Prince Louis Looks Adorable in Birthday Images Released by Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Charles

The prince turns 2 today and his proud mum shared a selection of images on social media, some more candid than others.

Talk about an outtake.

Prince Willian and Kate Middleton issued a perfect set of pictures of Prince Louis doing some finger-painting on Wednesday evening to mark his second birthday—but on Thursday morning, the couple shared an additional image that showed the young prince had subsequently smeared his face with paint.

The initial set of four pictures released Wednesday evening ahead of his birthday Thursday gave a sneak peek into how the Cambridges are getting through the coronavirus lockdown and showed the royal toddler doing some hand-painting outside, using all the colors of the rainbow, which has become a symbol of support for the U.K.’s National Health Service.

Louis was wearing a smart checked shirt for the pictures, and parents around the globe could have been forgiven for rolling their eyes at the Cambridges apparent airy ability to maintain perfect order in every aspect of their family life at this challenging time.  

However on Thursday morning the couple blasted out a jocular diptych with the caption “Instagram vs Reality” that showed that after the pictures were taken, Louis took to decorating some fresh canvas—his cheeks.

In a recent interview on BBC TV, Kate said: “The children have got such stamina, I don’t know how they do it. Honestly, you get to the end of the day and you write down the list of all the things that you’ve done in that day: pitch a tent, take the tent down again, cook, bake. You get to the end of the day, they’ve had a lovely time, but it is amazing how much you can cram into a day, that’s for sure.”

Kate said they had experienced “ups and downs” during the pandemic lockdown “like lots of families.”

Prince Charles also published a tender portrait of himself embracing his grandson to mark the birthday.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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