Prince Louis beams in never-before-seen birthday snap shared by Kate

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a never-before-seen photo of Prince Louis to celebrate his seventh birthday today. The cute snap shows Louis sitting on a tree trunk, smiling and showing a gap for his two front teeth, in the image released on the Wales's social media accounts.

It was captioned: "Wishing Prince Louis a very Happy 7th Birthday!" with a birthday cake emoji. The picture was taken earlier this month in Norfolk by photographer Josh Shinner. The new picture of the youngster comes as he and his two older siblings and Princess Charlotte enjoy their last day of the Easter holidays before returning to Lambrook School tomorrow for the summer term.

The Wales family skipped the traditional royals Easter gathering at Windsor Castle and instead spent family time together at their country home in Norfolk.

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However, they still went to church by attending an Easter Sunday service in Sandringham along with Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton. The family managed to evade the crowds outside the church to enjoy the service, where they were handed hot cross buns on their way out.

Louis is largely growing up away from the public spotlight and the last time he was seen in public was on Day when the made their traditional festive appearance on ' Sandringham Estate to walk to church. He was pictured collecting gifts from kind wellwishers.

Last year, Louis' birthday came just weeks after his mum Kate had revealed her cancer diagnosis to the . This has meant that public appearances for the young prince over the past 12 months have been limited.

However, he did join the rest of the Wales family in the personal video released by his mum to announce the end of her chemotherapy treatment in September. He was also among the the congregation at Westminster Abbey in early December for Kate's annual Christmas Carol Concert.

Louis' own hobbies appear to have become more grown-up recently, with William revealing last year that the youngster 'loves' . He is also fond of rugby, with Kate once admitting during a visit to Twickenham, "Louis is kamikaze, we’re worrying about when he gets older, he’ll be in the middle of everything."

As protective parents and ardent mental health campaigners, both Kate and William are no doubt keen to shield their children from the rising harms of social media. “Like any parents these days, William and Catherine have a challenge on their hands trying to monitor and control their children’s access to social media at too early an age,” former royal correspondent Jennie Bond said.

"But they have made their welfare an absolute priority – and that very much includes allowing them to talk about their feelings and problems. George, Charlotte and Louis couldn’t have parents who are more in touch with issues surrounding mental health."

William and Kate’s youngest child is fourth in line to the throne and was born on St George's Day, April 23, 2018, at the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, weighing 8lb 7oz. He was christened Louis Arthur Charles at 11 weeks old, by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at the Chapel Royal, St James' Palace in front of friends and family.