A photo of Prince Louis released on the occasion of his sixth birthday

CNN
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British Prince and Princess of Wales released a new photo of Prince Louis to mark his sixth birthday on Tuesday, the first image released by the family since a photo-editing scandal broke last month.

In the picture, Louis – who is fourth in line to the British throne – can be seen grinning at the camera while lying on a blanket.

The image, posted on the couple’s official social media accounts on Tuesday, has been attributed to Catherine, Princess of Wales.

A royal source said the Welsh were grateful for the birthday messages they received for Louis and the photo was taken by Kate, 42, in Windsor over the past few days.

“This comes at an unprecedented time for the Welsh family as the princess continues her recovery,” the source said.

It has been a challenging time for the family as Kate announced last month that she is in the early stages of chemotherapy for cancer.

“The family were aware of the fact that they had requested privacy during the princess’ recovery, but generally wanted to share the image on their social media channels as a way of saying thank you to those who sent birthday wishes,” the source continued.

The source said the photo was not edited. The CNN Photo Desk analyzed the image, confirmed that it was unedited, and found no inconsistencies or signs that the photo had been edited.

It’s become something of a tradition for William and Catherine to mark their children’s birthdays by sharing new photos each year. Many of the past portraits were taken by Kate, who is a keen photographer herself.

However, several occasions have seen famous professional photographers including Mario Testino, Chris Jackson and Millie Pilkington capture some of the contemporary portraits.

The Welsh release a festive photo of Lewis every year to mark his birthday. He was last seen in public during the family’s traditional Christmas walk to church with his mother on the Sandringham estate.

The latest official photo of the youngest member of the Welsh family is likely to be closely scrutinized as it is the first since a Mother’s Day photo sparked scandal last month.

Kensington Palace released an official family photo purported to have been taken by Prince William, which was later found to have been doctored. The image was meant to end fierce speculation about the whereabouts of the princess, who has withdrawn from the public eye following abdominal surgery in January.

However, just hours after its publication, several international news outlets pulled the photo from circulation, citing concerns of manipulation at the source.

As eagle-eyed royal watchers continued to look for potential inconsistencies, Kate – as she is known to many – took responsibility for the chaos that ensued.

She said she was editing “like many amateur photographers” and “wanted to express my apologies for the confusion,” in a brief statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

A second round of controversy was sparked weeks later when another official photo was identified as digitally manipulated.

Getty Images said on March 19 that a photo of the late Queen Elizabeth II with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by Kate and released by the palace last year, had also been “digitally enhanced”. A CNN analysis found signs of change in as many as 19 places.

The princess revealed that an unspecified cancer was identified in post-operative tests on March 22. Kate said it had been an “incredibly difficult few months” in a deeply personal video message, during which she asked the public for privacy.

The family was subsequently kept in the dark during the Easter school holidays, but William resumed official duties last week.

While visiting a surplus food redistribution centre, the prince promised to “look after” Kate in return for getting his wife and father get-well cards. King Charles III also took a step back from public duties after revealing his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year.