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Like father, like son. A royal photographer sees Prince George taking after Prince William in his new birthday portrait. How? Not physically—although George does admittedly bear a striking resemblance to his dad—but in his personality. George, the photographer said, looked “rather shy” in his birthday portrait, not unlike William in photos as a boy. 

Prince George’s photo to celebrate turning 11

The Prince of Wales and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, both 42, continued their longstanding tradition of birthday portraits when George turned 11 on July 22, 2024. 

They marked the occasion with a new image of their oldest child, which Kate took earlier this month in Windsor, England. (The Wales family of five—William, Kate, George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—lives at Adelaide Cottage near Windsor Castle.)

In the black-and-white image, George is wearing a dark-hued blazer and white shirt, and he has a friendship bracelet on his left wrist. William and Kate shared the photo on their social media with the message: “Wishing Prince George a very happy 11th birthday today!” 

It comes after William and Kate kept up the tradition with 6-year-old Louis and 9-year-old Charlotte in April and May 2024, respectively, following Kate’s public apology for editing a family photo to mark Mother’s Day in the U.K. taken by William. 

George is shy like young William in his birthday portrait

Former royal photographer Ian Pelham-Turner, who photographed William as a baby, saw the new image of George as an example of how he’s shy like William was growing up. 

“William was quite shy as well as a youngster,” he told Express. “And it comes over that George is quite shy as well.” 

“I remember with both William and [Prince] Harry that [Princess] Diana used to almost have to hold them in place if they were doing an official photograph where there were lots of photographers,” he recalled.

“They both hated photography, and she realised [sic] that,” Pelham-Turner added. 

George has a ‘slight stiffness’ when he’s photographed in public

Discussing George’s “shyness,” the photographer noted how the 11-year-old heir to the throne appears to tense up when he’s in front of cameras. 

“He does his public duty, but there is a slight stiffness to him when he’s in public and knows he’s being photographed,” Pelham-Turner said. 

That changes when cameras and photographers are less obvious. “Whereas when he’s by himself, as we saw during the Euros next to his father, and they are both shouting and screaming for a goal, he’s much more demonstrative.” 

George joined his dad in Germany on July 14, 2024, to watch Team England compete—and ultimately lose—in the UEFA European Championship. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Kate went to the Wimbledon finals.

“William had that same quietness to him,” he continued. “And I suppose that’s really the similarity between them both.” 

George appeared “relaxed” in his birthday photo, he said. Why? “Because they can do it at his pace; there is no pressure on him.” 

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