Prince William celebrates birthday with puppy photo

A photo of the Prince of Wales with another generation - this time of puppies - has been posted on social media by Kensington Palace to mark his 43rd birthday.

The picture, taken by the Princess of Wales, shows Prince William with their family's Cocker spaniel, Orla, and three of her four recently-arrived puppies.

The message for Prince William was signed online "with love", with the initials of Catherine and their children, George, Charlotte, Louis, and "the puppies", plus a paw print emoji.

The picture was taken in Windsor earlier this month.

There was also a message online for Prince William from the official account of the Royal Family, saying "Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales!", plus some celebratory emojis.

An accompanying picture, of the prince sitting on a stone wall, was taken while he visited farmers and food producers on the Duchy of Cornwall - a parcel of land William now owns - in May.

Orla was given to the royal couple by Catherine's brother, James Middleton, in 2020, shortly after the death of their previous dog Lupo.

The dog - seen walking behind William in the picture - gave birth to four puppies in May.

Spaniels are well known for their affectionate behaviour and the picture shows the puppies clambering around the prince.

In the puppy picture, the prince looks relaxed in a pair of jeans and trainers - an informal moment after recent showcase occasions, including Trooping the Colour and the Order of the Garter procession.

He also visited a project linked to his Earthshot environmental prize which creates a type of sustainable dye that can reduce the fashion industry's use of harmful chemicals - so colours can really be green.

Catherine did not appear at Royal Ascot earlier this week, with royal aides saying she had to find a balance in how she returned to work. In January, the princess revealed she was in remission after her cancer diagnosis last year.

On Friday, she sent out a message about her support for children's hospices - saying they helped families who were "heartbroken, fearful of the future and often desperately isolated".

And now her photo has marked her husband's birthday.

While Prince William was born in mid-summer on the longest day of the year, his father King Charles has been praising those in Antarctica experiencing the shortest day of the year.

He recorded a special message for the BBC's Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast, which sends a morale-raising message to scientists working in remote research stations in the depths of their winter.

The King praised the work of researchers tracking climate change.