On the heels of the Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day photo scandal last month, royal followers wondered if the tradition of getting birthday photos of Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—typically photos shot by Kate herself—might be over for good. Fears seemed to be confirmed yesterday when, for much of Tuesday, Prince William and Kate were radio silent on Louis’ sixth birthday—but, finally, around lunchtime in the U.K., there it was: a photo of little Louis, taken by his mom.
It is a shift in protocol, and royal commenter Richard Fitzwilliams said the change likely boils down to two reasons: yes, the fallout from the Mother’s Day photo scandal (Photogate, or Katgate, or whatever you want to call it), but also Kate herself needing the time, space, and privacy that she asked for when announcing her cancer diagnosis last month.
“This [would have been] a shame because of the vexed issue of her Mothering Day photograph,” Fitzwilliams told The Daily Express. “The revelation that it was edited led to a highly embarrassing contretemps and the subsequent revelation that she was not only recovering from abdominal surgery but bravely fighting cancer. The video message when she revealed this was probably the bravest by any public figure about their health in Britain.”
Fitzwilliams added that there could have been debates behind closed doors about what would be the most appropriate course of action, suggesting that the delay in releasing the photo might “emphasize her need for time, space, and privacy, which she expressed so movingly in the message and, after the misunderstandings of recent weeks, this should be universally understood,” he said.
The unedited photo of Louis seemed to be released without a hitch, and hopefully cemented a new protocol going forward that (thankfully, selfishly) includes birthday photos of George, Charlotte, and Louis that we’ve so come to appreciate and look forward to.
It’s understood that Louis celebrated his birthday yesterday “surrounded by his family after his school day [was] over,” The Daily Express reports.
