As Prince Louis is set to turn six, was Millie Pilkington chosen to be the photographer again?

Prince Louis turns six tomorrow (23 April) and it will be interesting to see if photographs released for his birthday will once again be taken by Millie Pilkington. Last year, a photograph of a smiling Prince Louis being pushed in a wheelbarrow by his mother, the Princess of Wales, was one of two released to mark his fifth birthday.

The photographer Milie Pilkington shared the Prince Louis portraits on her website and said: “So honoured to have been asked by HRH the Princess of Wales to take a birthday portrait of Prince Louis as he turns 5. Of my two portraits released by the Palace, this image of Louis in the wheelbarrow with HRH The Princess of Wales, laughing down towards him, is my favourite.”

Millie Pilkington also revealed that the photograph “not only captures Louis’ spirit and cheek but also the relationship he has with his mother, and the fun they have together. You can’t help but feeling joy, love and laughter when you look at this photo.”

Before the Princess of Wales revealed her cancer diagnosis in a video message, there had been a frenzy of speculation regarding her health following her absence from public life following abdominal surgery in January. This speculation was only compounded when she released a photograph of herself with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to mark mother’s day.

The photograph was then pulled by six picture agencies after it became clear that the image had been digitally altered which prompted the Princess of Wales to apologise for editing the picture. 

Before Millie Pilkington was chosen to take the portraits released in honour of Prince Louis’s birthday, it was Catherine, Princess of Wales who was the photographer behind his birthday pictures. When he turned four, Prince Louis was seen at the beach in a grey sweater with stars and shorts. 

It has been reported that the Princess of Wales is likely to continue the birthday tradition for Prince Louis’s sixth birthday which involves her staying up late to make him a cake. When she appeared alongside her husband, Prince William on the BBC programme A Berry Royal Christmas with Mary Berry, she revealed that “I love making the cake.”

The Princess of Wales went on to say that “It’s become a bit of a tradition that I stay up ‘til midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much,” she explained. “But I love it.”