Prince William and Kate Middleton released a new photo of Princess Charlotte for her birthday

• Princess Charlotte turned 9 years old on Thursday.

• To mark her birthday, Kensington Palace released a new photo of her taken by Kate Middleton.

• Charlotte is third in line for the UK throne.

Princess Charlotte celebrated her birthday on Thursday.

Nine years ago today, Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed Charlotte Elizabeth Diana at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London.

Charlotte is the Prince and Princess of Wales' second child, and her brothers, Prince George and Prince Louis, are 10 and 6, respectively.

Kensington Palace released a new photo of the princess on its social media channels to mark the occasion.

In the photo, Charlotte smiles as she leans on a fence covered in flowers. She wears a sweater, cardigan, and jean skirt for a casual look.

"Happy 9th birthday, Princess Charlotte!" Kensington Palace captioned the post. "Thank you for all the kind messages today."

The caption also noted that Kate took the photo, just as the caption for Louis' birthday post on April 23 did.

William and Kate's photography became the source of controversy in March after Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate with her children for Mother's Day in the UK amid the Princess of Wales' lengthy absence from the public eye. The picture appeared to be digitally altered, and photo agencies such as Reuters and AP later killed it because it seemed manipulated.

Kensington Palace said William took the photo, but Kate took responsibility for editing it — just a little over a week before she announced she was undergoing "preventive chemotherapy."

Neither Charlotte nor her brothers have attended a royal engagement in 2024, as their parents have kept them away from the public. But she attended several public engagements in 2023, such as King Charles III's coronation, Trooping the Colour, and her first Wimbledon.

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