He will turn 40 within days,
but this charming picture – released to coincide with Father’s Day – shows that
Prince William already has all the gifts he could ever want.
Taken during a family holiday
to Jordan, it shows William sitting between Prince George, eight, and Princess
Charlotte, now seven, with his youngest, Prince Louis, now four, perched on his
shoulders. He beams contentedly as his children roar with laughter.
William will celebrate his
milestone birthday on Tuesday as he and his wife, Kate, prepare to announce a move to
Windsor – as first reported by The Mail on Sunday last August.
This image differs from recent
official photographs in that it was not taken by the Duchess of Cambridge, a
keen amateur photographer. Instead, Kensington Palace said that the delightful
portrait was captured by a private, unnamed photographer during a getaway last
autumn.
William (centre) is pictured
beaming with George (right), Charlotte (left) and Prince Louis (on his
shoulders) in Jordan
A similar image of the
Cambridges, seemingly taken on the same day and showing Kate in a khaki green
dress and William in an olive shirt and beige shorts, was used for the family’s
most recent Christmas card.
This portrait, however, offers
a more informal, relaxed view of family life. While the exact location has not
been revealed, the picturesque sandstone backdrop suggests it may have been
taken in Petra, the ancient archaeological site in Jordan’s southwestern
desert.
The Cambridges have a personal
connection to Jordan, as Kate lived there for three years when her father,
Michael, was posted to the capital Amman for his job with British Airways in
May 1984 when she was two and her sister, Pippa, was eight months old.
