The Princess of Wales has shared an adorable photo of Prince Louis and his toothless grin to mark his seventh birthday.

Kate, 43, shared the sweet snap of her youngest son, pictured against a stunning spring backdrop, on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s Kensington Royal social media accounts.

The photo, which shows Prince Louis without his front teeth, is captioned: ‘Wishing Prince Louis a very Happy 7th Birthday!’

As he flashes his beaming smile to the camera, Prince Louis is dressed in a white and blue checked shirt, with a green jumper layered over the top and paired with jeans. His brunette hair is swept to the side.

The young royal is sitting among a stunning spring scene surrounded by bluebells, in the garden at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, the Wales family’s residence on the Sandringham Estate.

Kate, who often takes her children’s royal portraits herself as a keen photographer, broke from tradition as she shared the photo later in the morning of Louis’s special day – whereas portraits have previously been released at midnight on each child’s birthday.

In another twist, keen photographer Kate did not take the portrait of her youngest son. Instead it was taken by one of the family’s preferred photographers, Josh Shinner, in Norfolk earlier this month.

Louis Arthur Charles Mountbatten-Windsor, the youngest of the Wales children, was born at St Mary’s hospital in London on 23 April 2018.

As fourth in line to the throne, he has not grown up in the same spotlight as his older brother, Prince George – however the public appearances he does make consistently delight royal fans as his colourful personality shines through.

Fans have come to eagerly anticipate Louis’s appearances on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where his playful nature and comical facial expressions take centre stage as the family gathers to wave to the masses and watch special flypast demonstrations.

Similarly, his adorable goofy antics were highlighted in an emotive video released last September by the Wales family, as Kate announced she was ‘cancer-free’ and had completed her chemotherapy treatment.

After a difficult year for the family while the Princess of Wales underwent cancer treatment, it’s thought that Louis has developed an ever stronger bond with his maternal grandparents, Carole and Mike Middleton.

The couple, parents to Kate, Pippa and James, have been a constant presence, helping to maintain a sense of normality for George, Charlotte and Louis.

Carole has frequently accompanied Kate on school drop-offs, while the children have enjoyed regular sleepovers at their grandparents’ home as their mother recuperated.

When Kate released her emotional video message announcing she had completed her chemotherapy, her parents were seen in touching footage playing cards with the children – a glimpse into the support surrounding the family behind the scenes.

Louis’s affection for his grandparents was also on display during last year’s Westminster Abbey carol concert, where he was spotted holding a handwritten note that read: ‘Thank you for granny and grandpa because they have played games with me.’

He added the note to the ‘kindness tree’, an initiative inviting guests to share messages of gratitude.

While the Prince and Princess of Wales keep much detail about Louis’s life private, they have previously revealed snippets about him much to the delight of royal fans.

Last year, Prince William, 42, revealed his son’s favourite hobby – which is louder than that of most young children.

Speaking to Rolling Stones icon Ronnie Wood and Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler at the 2024 Tusk Conservation Awards, he revealed Louis has started to play the drums.

Laughing, William said: ‘My youngest is learning the drums. That’s why I spend my entire life with my fingers in my ears.’

Similarly Kate, who affectionately calls her youngest son ‘Lou-bug’, previously revealed he is ‘mad’ about rugby.

In 2023 while visiting England’s wheelchair rugby league team, she said she and the family had watched the final on TV, the mother-of-three said the family loved competing against each other – particularly siblings Prince George, Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis.

‘We’re always slightly competitive with each other. They all love sport and Louis is mad about rugby. They are at an age where they just love running around.’

She also revealed she loves to join in with her children when they play sport. The mother-of-three said: ‘I do it all: whenever I can squeeze in exercise I do, even jumping on the trampoline with the children before school.’

Following in his mother’s footsteps, Louis also appears to be a keen photographer-in-training who has stepped behind the camera to capture his mother in the past.

As the Wales family marked World Cancer Day in February, the first since Kate announced her recovery from cancer, Kensington Palace released a photo of the Princess taken by her youngest son.

The seven-year-old got behind the camera to perfectly frame the image of Kate during a walk in the woods in Windsor over the winter – echoing his mother’s known love for photography.

It was accompanied by a personal message from Kate, reading: ‘Don’t forget to nurture all that which lies beyond the disease. C #WorldCancerDay’

The young Prince’s adorable gap-toothed smile as he turns seven follows another sweet snap released last year to mark his sixth birthday – again surrounded in nature.

Louis’s birthday celebrations come after the Wales family spent their Easter away from the rest of the royal family, in an incognito Sandringham service.

William and Kate were seen attending the 11 O’Clock service at St Mary Magdalene Church on Sunday along with Kate’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton.

The family managed to evade gathered crowds as they went into church for the private service.

Once inside, Prince George, 11, nine-year-old Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, six, were given hot cross buns to enjoy as part of the holiday celebrations.

Other members of the royal family including King Charles and Queen Camilla came together to celebrate at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Kate was dressed in a long camel coat and a trilby brown hat, whilst William was smartly dressed in a dark suit.

They were all handed wrapped hot cross buns by the vicar, Canon Paul Williams, as they left.

About 150 royal fans congregated outside the church, hoping to catch a glimpse of the family, but were left disappointed when they left the church through the back door.

The Sandringham estate also had an Easter egg trail in aid of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, where Prince William worked between 2015 and 2017.