See the Newly Released Photo of Queen Elizabeth with the Next Generations of Royals — Taken By Kate!
The image, featuring many of the Queen's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was captured during a family trip to Balmoral last summer — and released to mark what would have been her 97th birthday
A new photograph of Queen Elizabeth with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren — and taken by Kate Middleton! — has been shared on what would have been her 97th birthday.
The never-before-seen picture was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales' Instagram and Twitter accounts on Friday.
"Today would have been Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth's 97th birthday," read the caption. "This photograph — showing her with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren — was taken at Balmoral last summer."
The image shows Queen Elizabeth sitting on a green couch surrounded by the next generations of royals, including Princess Kate and Prince William's three children — Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.
Also in the picture are Zara (the Queen's granddaughter) and Mike Tindall's three children — Mia, 9, Lena, 4, and Lucas, 2. Meanwhile, Peter Phillips' two daughters, Savannah (seated next to the Queen), 12, and Isla, 11, smile for the portrait.
Two grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth's are also pictured. Prince Edward and his wife Sophie's son James, 15, and Lady Louise Windsor, 19, can be seen standing at the back of the picture.
Related:Royal Family Pays Birthday Tribute to 'Incredible Life and Legacy' of Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth had eight grandchildren — although Lady Louise and James posed for the photo, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara and Peter are not pictured.
Some of Queen Elizabeth's great-grandchildren also missed the photo op: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's son August and Princess Beatrice's daughter Sienna. (Princess Eugenie is currently pregnant with her second child, due this summer, who will be the first of Queen Elizabeth's great-grandchildren born following her death.)
The image of Queen Elizabeth was taken during a family trip to Balmoral, the Scotland residence where the late monarch traditionally spent her summers. She passed away there "peacefully" on September 8.
Princess Kate is a keen photographer and regularly snaps official photographs of her three children. In recent years, the royal family has released more of her private photos, including a similar photo of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with some of their great-grandchildren taken in 2018 that was shared publicly following Prince Philip's death in April 2021.
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The royal family also marked Queen Elizabeth's first posthumous birthday by sharing a photo of the monarch taken in Edinburgh in June 2022, shortly after her Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking her 70 years on the throne.
"Today we remember the incredible life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on what would have been her 97th birthday," the photo was captioned on Instagram. "When Her Majesty was born in April 1926, Princess Elizabeth and her family did not expect that she would one day become Queen. Following the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936, her father acceded to the throne."
The caption continued, "When King George VI died in February 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II when she was just 25. Her Majesty went on to be Britain's longest reigning Monarch - the only one in history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee."
For what would be the final birthday of her life in April 2022, when she turned 96, the palace released a new photo of Queen Elizabeth. The majestic shot, which was taken on the grounds of Windsor Castle, showed the Queen standing proudly between two of her white fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. She wore a dark green cape-style coat as she holds the reins of two of her favorite horses in front of a magnolia tree.
Throughout her life, Queen Elizabeth was always fond of horses and was given her first horse (a Shetland pony) when she was just 4. She was known to get animated at horse racing events, enthusiastically cheering for her horses.
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