Prince George Stars in New Portrait for His 11t...

Prince George is ringing in his 11th birthday with a brand new photo

Published Time: 22.07.2024 - 12:31:11 Modified Time: 22.07.2024 - 12:31:11

Prince George is ringing in his 11th birthday with a brand new photo.

Kate MiddletonandPrince Williamshared a new portrait to mark their eldest son's latest milestone on July 22.

The new image -- taken in Windsor earlier this month by mom Princess Kate -- continues a royal tradition. The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 42, have issued portraits of Georgeevery year for his birthday since he was a baby, and the practice extended to his two younger siblings, 9-year-old Princess Charlotte and 6-year-old Prince Louis.

The new black and white portrait shows George looking smart in a dark blazer and white shirt -- and seen on his left wrist in the Instagram stories version is a friendship-style bracelet (a souvenir from his exciting evening at Taylor Swift's London concert in June, perhaps?) -- and the social media release from his parents comes with the message: "Wishing Prince George a very happy 11th birthday today!"

Although the tradition continued this year for Charlotte and Louis, there was uncertainty if Prince William and Princess Kate would release new photos surrounding their children's birthdays this year. In March, Kate released a rare statement after a photo taken by William of her and their children to mark Mother's Day in the U.K. wasremoved by multiple news agenciesdue to suspicions of manipulation. "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,"she said.

Both Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte's most recent birthday portraits were unedited and taken by their mother, who announced in late March that she was undergoing treatment for cancer.

Prince George will likely celebrate his birthday out of the public eye with his family, but he has popped up at a few recent events. In addition to joining the royals at Trooping the Colour, the annual celebration of the British monarch's birthday, on June 15, the preteen prince attended a Taylor Swift concert with his father and sister (where they snapped a selfie with the pop star!) on June 21 and joined Prince William at theUEFA European Championship soccer game between England and Spain on July 14.

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Although Prince George will become monarch one day, his parents want to make the transition into royal duties as easy as possible for him.

"William is trying to normalize it. They're not in denial, and there’s a lot of thought being given to it, which was not always the case,” Robert Hardman, the author ofThe Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, previously told PEOPLE.

"With George, there's a sense that the priority is that he and his siblings are not put off this, that it's not scary, that it's something that they understand and it’s going to be part of their life,” he said. "And there’s a belief to make it as unobtrusive and as normal, if you can call it normal, and as pleasant as possible."

Hardman added, “Crucially, it's both of them: William and Catherine."

While previous generations of royals had their future laid out for them without consultation, Prince William had a level of autonomy in selecting his university education, engaging with the armed forces and undertaking initial royal responsibilities — and he wants the same for his son.

"There is no expectation that any royal duties are going to kick in until George is well into his 20s," a Kensington Palace source said in the book. "Before he was evenmade a page at the coronation, William and Catherine wanted to ask him if he felt comfortable about it because he was clearly the youngest. It turned out he was keen."

Prince William made it clear that his duties as a husband and parent came first when Princess Kateunderwent abdominal surgeryin January and announced her cancer diagnosis in March. William took time out of the public eye during her recovery so he could help her andkeep a normal schedulefor Prince George,Princess Charlotte, andPrince Louis.

“We know they are a very tight family unit, and he wants to be there for them,” Hardman told PEOPLE. “So much of what they do with those kids is about normalizing life and not making them feel like they are in a special gilded cage."

“They are a modern royal couple," added Hardman. "There would have been more delegation in the past. Hedoesn’t want to leave it all to the nanny.”