A photo of Prince Louis has been released to mark his sixth birthday

CNN
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The Prince of Britain and the Princess of Wales A new photo of Prince Louis has been released to mark his sixth birthday on Tuesday, the first ever released by the family. The photo editing scandal erupted Last month.

In the photo, Louis – who is fourth in line to the British throne – can be seen smiling at the camera as he lies on a blanket.

The image, posted on the couple's official social media accounts on Tuesday, was credited to Catherine, Princess of Wales.

A royal source said the people of Wales were grateful for the birthday messages for Louis, who had been photographed by Kate, 42, in Windsor over the past few days.

The source said it was an “unprecedented moment” for the Wales family as the princess continues to recover.

It's been a challenging time for the family as Kate announced that she is in the early stages of chemotherapy. Cancer last month.

“The family knew they had asked for privacy during the princess's recovery, however, on balance, wanted to share the image on their social media channels as a thank you to those who sent birthday wishes,” the source continued.

The photo was not edited, the source said. A CNN photo desk has analyzed the image and confirmed it was not edited and found no anomalies or signs of photo editing.

It has become a tradition for William and Catherine to share new pictures of their children's birthdays every year. Kate has taken many portraits in the past and is an avid photographer.

However, a few events have seen famous professional photographers including Mario Destino, Chris Jackson and Millie Pilkington shoot some contemporary portraits.

Wales released a celebratory photo of Lewis each year to mark his birthday. He was last seen in public during the family's traditional Christmas Day walk with his mum in Sandringham Gardens.

The latest official photo of the youngest member of the Wales family is likely to come under increased scrutiny for the first time since a Mother's Day photo sparked a scandal last month.

Published by Kensington Palace Official family photo, said to have been taken by Prince William, was later found to be false. Photograph Should have stopped to frenzied speculation that the princess had retreated from the public eye after January stomach surgery.

However, within hours of its release, several international news stories were made He pulled the photo from circulation Citing concerns about manipulation at source.

As eagle-eyed royal-watchers continued to poke holes in potential anomalies, Kate – as she is known to many – took responsibility for the resulting chaos.

X said in a short statement posted earlier on Twitter that he was involved in editing “like many amateur photographers” and “wanted to express my apologies for the confusion”.

A second round of controversy arose a few weeks later Another official photo has been identified Digitally handled.

Getty Images said on March 19 that a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth II with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by Kate and released by the palace last year, had been “digitally enhanced”. A CNN analysis found signs of change in 19 locations.

The princess revealed on March 22 that post-surgery tests had revealed an unspecified cancer. It's been an “incredibly difficult couple of months,” Kate asked for privacy in a deeply personal video message.

The family then kept a low profile over the Easter school holidays, but William resumed official duties Last week.

During a visit to a surplus food redistribution center, the prince promised to “take care” of Kate in return for getting well cards for his wife and father. King Charles III has also taken a step back from public-facing duties after revealing his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year.