Prince Louis’ Birthday Pictures Turned Into A Great, Big Colorful Mess

Prince Louis turned 2 on Thursday and it looks like things got just a little messy with his birthday pictures. 

Kate Middleton and Prince William shared adorable new portraits of the youngest of their three children, who had rainbow-colored paints on his hands, on Wednesday night. 

The photos were taken earlier this month by Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, at the family’s home in Anmer Hall. 

But just a few hours later, the palace released some behind-the-scenes pictures that looked a little more realistic ― showing Louis with that same rainbow paint all over his cheeks. 

“Instagram Vs Reality,” the palace cheekily tweeted, alongside side-by-side photos of Louis that included one of his painted-covered face. “Thank you for your lovely messages on Prince Louis’s second birthday.” 

Now that is more like it! 

Clarence House, the residence of Prince Charles and wife Camilla, shared birthday wishes from them, along with a sweet black-and-white photo of Louis sharing a hug with his grandfather. 

It’s likely that the families exchanged birthday wishes over the phone, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge told BBC Breakfast last week that they’ve begun video chatting with their relatives amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

“It’s been a really good way of keeping in touch and seeing each other,” William told the BBC. Kate added, “I think your father, and my parents and our families … have really loved keeping in touch with the children, because they know it’s really hard.” 

Charles spoke about turning to technology to keep in touch with people in an essay he penned for the U.K. magazine, Country Life, published on Wednesday. 

“We have seen the very best use of technology — allowing us to keep working, but also to keep in touch through virtual parties, games, singing — and some of the funniest videos I have seen for a long time,” he wrote, as one imagines the prince discovering TikTok during self-isolation. “In such testing times, it is reassuring to see that adversity is bringing out the very best in people.”