Charlotte of Cambridge celebrates her seventh birthday with three portraits taken by Kate Middleton, her mother

In the early afternoon of May 2, 2015, the British royal family announced the birth of the second daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Prince William and Kate Middleton had welcomed their little girl that morning. Her name would be made known two days later: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, with her middle name in honor of her great-grandmother, the Queen of England, and the third in honor of her paternal grandmother, the late Diana of Wales. Today, the little girl turns seven years old, and her parents have celebrated the occasion with three photographs.

The Duchess of Cambridge herself, who likes to photograph her children on special occasions, took the photos. On Sunday night, hours before the little princess’s birthday, William and Kate posted two photographs of the little girl on social media, captioned “Seven tomorrow!”

In the images, a smiling Charlotte poses sitting on the grass in navy blue pants, a light blue sweater and a white polka-dot shirt. The portraits, according to the royal family, were taken this past weekend at Anmer Hall, the Norfolk estate where the couple and their children spend their vacations and long periods when they are not in London and where they spent some of their time during the coronavirus lockdown.

In the second image, the girl appears with the family dog, a cocker spaniel named Orla. For nine years the family lived with a similar pet, Lupo, who passed away in November 2020. On the morning of May 2, the family shared a third photo in the same series, with the princess posing with her hands on her knees. “Thank you for all the lovely messages on Princess Charlotte’s seventh birthday!” read the caption.

Kate Middleton has long been more than just a fan of photography. She immortalized her two oldest childrens’ first moments together, and she photographed the first day of school for George, her eldest son and third in line to the British throne (after Charles of England and his son William). In recognition of her passion, Queen Elizabeth II named her Patron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Photographic Society in June 2019.

In early 2020, the Duchess published photographs of two survivors of the Nazi Holocaust, Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank, along with their grandchildren. These images appeared on January 27, 2020, which marked 75 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. “Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most life-affirming people that I have had the privilege to meet.” the duchess said then. “They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through. Their stories will stay with me forever.” A few months later, the images appeared in an exhibition in collaboration with the Royal Photographic Society.