Happy 6th Birthday Prince Louis

 April 23rd marks Prince Louis of Wales's 6th birthday. The third child and youngest son of The Prince and Princess of Wales, Louis was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital Paddington.

At the time of his birth, Louis' parents were The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge so he was HRH Prince Louis of Cambridge. But since the passing of Her Late Majesty and Prince Charles's accession to King, Prince William is now Prince of Wales and thus his young family are "of Wales" not "of Cambridge".

Louis' early years were spent at Kensington Palace, except during the COVID pandemic when the family lived at Anmer Hall. The little prince followed big sister Charlotte and attended Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington for just over a year. 

In 2022, Louis started appearing at royal events- Christmas Church Service in Sandringham, Trooping the Colour and several events marking Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. It was at the Jubilee that we first saw the cheeky facial expressions that Louis has become famous for. 

In the summer of 2022 the Wales family moved from Kensington Palace ( they still retain a home and office there) to Adelaide Cottage next to Windsor Castle. This move was so William and Catherine were on hand to support the Queen as her health was obviously declining.

 The move to the country was also to provide space and privacy for the children to play and enjoy their childhoods away from the goldfish bowl that is Kensington and London. 

George, Charlotte & Louis were thus enrolled at Lambrook School near Ascot, just a 10 minute drive from Adelaide Cottage. This marked a big milestone for Louis- his first day at school. Unfortunately Queen Elizabeth died on that very same day at Balmoral Castle. 

For the most part Louis lives his life out of the spotlight and enjoys sport- particularly cricket. Catherine's parents, siblings and their respective young families all live in Berkshire, close to Windsor. The King also has been spending increasing amounts of time with his UK based grandchildren. 

In January, Catherine underwent major abdominal surgery and was subsequently told cancer had been present. The princess is undergoing preventative chemotherapy and has not undertaken any public events since Christmas Day. 

Both Catherine and William have been at pains to protect their children from the upheaval of their Mum's illness and will no doubt endeavour to give Louis a happy and memorable birthday today.

Happy Birthday Prince Louis!