King Charles has lead the tributes to Prince William on his 43rd birthday, sharing an unseen image of the heir as well as a sweet message via the Royal Family’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
In the somewhat casual photograph, the Prince of Wales is seen looking pensive as he sits outside in a rural setting.
He is dressed in a button down pale blue shirt, as well as navy slacks – and in what may be a controversial move for some, he wears a very light beard.
The image was accompanied by a simple caption which read: ‘Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales!’.
The Prince of Wales has enjoyed a busy week in the lead-up to his birthday after last weekend’s Trooping The Colour and joining the Royal Ascot carriage procession on Wednesday.
However, he wasn’t joined by his wife at the Berkshire racecourse as expected after she pulled out of the event at the 11th hour.
She was said to be ‘disappointed’ at not attending the famous social and sporting occasion with her husband Prince William and the King and Queen.
Racegoers had been hoping to see the Princess after the Prince of Wales was named as one of the figures awarding race prizes during the second day of the meet.
Ascot officials had confirmed at 12pm that the Princess was due to be in the second carriage in the royal procession with William, in a published carriage list.
But less than half an hour later, Kensington Palace confirmed just before 12.30pm that Kate would not be attending – and a revised carriage list was published by Ascot.
MailOnline understands the Princess was ‘disappointed’ not to be in attendance ‘but she has to find the right balance as she fully returns to public facing engagements’.
In the past week Kate has attended three high-profile events – Trooping the Colour, the annual Order of the Garter service and a visit to a V&A storage facility in London.
It is a tradition for senior royals to have their birthdays marked with the release of photographs and messages.
Last year, the Royal Family wished the Prince of Wales a happy birthday with a sweet throwback snap on social media.
A young William is pictured in an adorable black and white shot with his father, King Charles III, to celebrate his eldest son turning 42.
The caption reads: ‘Wishing the Prince of Wales a very happy birthday!’
This year’s birthday post comes almost after the Wales family were seen at Trooping the Colour – the annual celebration of the monarch’s official birthday.
William played a starring role in the event, riding on horseback alongside Princess Anne and the Duke of Edinburgh.
And he was elaborately dressed for the occasion, donning the Full Ceremonial Guard Order of the Welsh Guards, and a bearskin hat.
The prince also donned the Most Noble Order of the Garter Sash with the Lesser George and a Welsh Guards Sword.
His outfit included his four, full size medals – the Gold, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilee medals, plus the Coronation Medal.
Meanwhile, his wife and children travelled by carriage.
Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales was born second in line to the throne at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, at 9.03pm on June 21 1982.
He weighed 7lb 1 1/2oz and was the first-born son of the then-Prince and the Princess of Wales.
At just nine months old, he accompanied his parents on a six-week official visit to Australia and New Zealand, which was a break from tradition with royal babies usually left at home in the care of nannies.
His mother Diana, who separated from the then-Prince of Wales in 1992, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
William was just 15 and his brother Prince Harry 12, and the boys walked behind the princess’s coffin during a funeral procession through London.
The prince met Kate Middleton at St Andrews University in Fife, and the pair married at Westminster Abbey in 2011 after dating for more than eight years.
They welcomed their first child George in 2013, followed by Charlotte in 2015, and then Louis in 2018.
After the death of the late Queen in 2022, the King announced in his first historic address that he had made William and Kate the new Prince and Princess of Wales.
William has a long-running rift with his brother the Duke of Sussex, with no sign yet of a reconciliation.
The fallout originated ahead of Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex.
It worsened after the accusations Harry publicly levelled at his brother in his double tell-alls: his Netflix documentary and his memoir Spare.
Despite years elapsing since that time, the once reportedly close siblings are still estranged from each other.
This has prompted some to wonder whether the rift between the two will ever be healed.
Since becoming the Prince of Wales, William has kept himself busy with some major initiatives.
In 2023, he launched Homewards, his five-year drive to eradicate homelessness in six locations around the UK.
And he has continued to work on his other passion projects.
These include raising mental health awareness, and the Earthshot Prize, his £50 million environmental competition to find solutions to help the planet.
