Adorable New Father’s Day Photo of Prince William with His Kids Has a Hidden Tribute to a Beloved Family Member

Prince William poses with kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis for Father's Day — (Image credit: Getty)

Today is Father’s Day in the U.K. and the U.S., and to mark the occasion, we have a new photo of Prince William with his brood—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. (We caught all four of them, plus mom Kate, at Trooping the Colour yesterday.) In the photo, taken by Millie Pilkington, the foursome color coordinate in blue—a favorite color of the royal family as of late.

Casual observers of the photo may have missed it, but there is a special touch in the photo honoring the late Queen Elizabeth: The four sit on a bench that was a gift for Her late Majesty’s ninetieth birthday back in 2016. (If you look closely, you can spot the words “birthday” and “April 2016” engraved in the wooden bench.) The Mirror reports that the photo was taken in the gardens of Frogmore House in Windsor.

Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis on the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour

According to Kensington Palace (and per People), the new photograph was taken on the Windsor Estate earlier this year. From the looks of what the kids are wearing, the photo was taken on the same day as the photo shoot that culminated in Louis’ fifth birthday portraits, which were released in April. Louis wears the same blue sweater over a checkered shirt.

The royal family shared a photo of a young William and Prince Harry with their father, King Charles, in a touching tribute alongside the caption “To Dads everywhere, we wish you a very special Father’s Day today.” One photo shows the King’s late father, Prince Philip, and another shows Queen Camilla with her late father, Major Bruce Shand. A third photo shows the King with his sons William and Harry in 1997, above the Falls of Muick at the Balmoral Estate in Scotland.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.