The Princess of Wales posted: 'Happy birthday Papa,we all love you so much! C x'
It is the kiss that gives it away.
“Happy birthday Papa,we all love you so much!” writes the Princess of Wales to her husband,as her young family mark Prince William’s 42nd birthday.
She signed it,for the first time,“C x”.
In private,like married couples across Britain,it is nothing out of the ordinary. In a public message released on the Royal family’s official social media,it is an unmistakable sign of the times.
The message is accompanied by the most informal photograph ever issued by the family,showing Prince William hand-in-hand with his children,leaping over a sand dune.
Open-mouthed as they shout with joy,the Waleses are captured in bare feet and mid air,in a picture that could be found in family photo albums up and down the country.
The Wales family made their first public appearance of the year together for Trooping the Colour
Credit: ©Karwai Tang
After the most challenging year of their lives,it seems to show,the Prince,Princess and their children are still here – happy and at home in their beloved Norfolk.
The Princess took the photograph herself,her husband looking directly at her as he jumps.
For all those who had asked the question “where is Kate?”,here is the answer: with her family,on the beach,making memories.
Prince William,on his birthday,is front and centre,an acknowledgement of the role he has been playing behind the scenes this year.
With an unwell wife and three children whose world has been turned upside down,he is said to have been keeping the show on the road all the while maintaining his public duties as best he can.
In a family not given to public displays of affection,a personal message from the Princess speaks volumes.
It is also,sources say,an emphatic underlining of the Princess’s family values,and how her husband and children were the driving force behind her decision to attend Trooping the Colour last weekend.
“This picture again speaks to that,” said a source. “The children are at the centre of their universe and their love is shown in this personal family photo.”
It is a huge contrast to some of their more careful,formal pictures in years gone by.
The window into the Wales family’s inner world is rare but not unprecedented.
In fact,those in palace circles have noted,it is the latest in a steady increase of glimpses into the Princess’s life and thoughts in the last few weeks.
In March,she surprised the world with a heartfelt video revealing the discovery of cancer and the chemotherapy to come.
At the time,it was said that she alone made the decision to address the public herself,knowing that the news she was delivering would be shocking and wanting to share the same reassurance she was giving behind closed doors.
Beach trips and the school run have been the order of the day when the Princess has been well enough
Then,when it was time for her return a week ago,she did so via a message written herself,littered with personal insights and human descriptions of her “good days and bad days”.
She had found it a “joy to engage with school life”,she said,spending time on “the things that give me energy and positivity”.
Last Sunday,on Father’s Day,Prince George,Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis made their own social media message debut – under the watchful eye of their parents – to say: “We love you,Papa. Happy Father’s Day G,C & L”.
This latest message,a short post on social media,speaks volumes about the Princess’s desire to publicly recognise all the Prince has done in his private supporting role.
For a Princess not known for her gushing,the succinct sentiment does the job.
It also provides a rather neat illustration of the family’s life when they are not on duty.
As she has been out of the public eye undergoing preventative chemotherapy on top of her major abdominal surgery in January,she has not – for much of it – been truly hidden away,but given the privacy and peace she politely requested.
Beach trips,time at their home in Anmer during the school holidays and weekends,and the school run have been the order of the day when she has been well enough.
While she is not back to a full working schedule,there are signs that the Princess will make further ad hoc appearances in the Court Circular and in person as the summer rolls on.
“Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance,” the Princess said in March.
As a keen student of photography and veteran of more than two decades in the spotlight,she understands as well as anyone how to share a message.
Sometimes it is a picture that speaks a thousand words. And this one is the happiest,most carefree,the public has seen yet.
