Prince George Looks So Grown-Up in His Official 8th Birthday Portrait

On Wednesday, the royal family released a new official portrait of Prince George to mark Kate Middleton and Prince William's oldest child's eighth birthday. "Turning eight(!) tomorrow," the couple captioned the photo on Instagram. Like many of the portraits released in honor of the Cambridge children's birthdays, the photo was taken by George's mom, Kate Middleton.

In the photo, George smiles at the camera while wearing a striped polo shirt and sitting on what looks to be a Land Rover—likely a tribute to George's late great-grandfather, Prince Philip, who passed away a few months ago and who famously adored Land Rovers.

We last saw George at the Euro 2020 championship final, where the little soccer fan looked at times delighted (when England scored!) and miserable (when England lost). George reportedly "begged" his dad, Prince William, to bring him to the final games. Both Kate and William have alluded in past years to George being a huge soccer fan, with William saying that George played the Three Lions football anthem (opens in new tab) every morning for a while.

Now that George has turned eight, he'll reportedly dress more formally, according to royal experts. Until royal boys' eighth birthday, they wear shorts, but George is likely to start wearing long trousers (opens in new tab)—like his father, Prince William—in line with royal tradition.

Just me, or is George the spitting image of William as he grows older??