Prince William is celebrating his 44th birthday today as well as Father’s Day – and to mark the day a special post has been shared on social media

Prince William has appeared in a brand new, never-before-seen photo – as he marks a double celebration.

The Prince of Wales is celebrating his 44th birthday today with his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, also helping him to mark Father’s Day.

And in a brand new photo shared on social media, William can be seen with Princess Charlotte in the garden at Kensington Palace after returning from Trooping the Colour, with a personal message reading: “Happy birthday and Father’s Day to the best Papa in the World! We love you very much. C, G, C & L”.

It is believed that the prince is spending his day privately at home with Kate and their three children. And royal expert Jennie Bond predicts William will definitely be “lapping up” getting fussed over.

The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror : “I don’t think Catherine will have needed any excuse to make a fuss of her husband. The two of them have seemed closer than ever, and more open about their feelings, since her cancer diagnosis.

“A birthday and Father’s Day all wrapped up in one weekend will make for quite a big celebration— all focused on William. And I’m sure he will be lapping it up!”

William’s birthday comes after a string of public outings for the Prince of Wales over the past week. Last Saturday, he was joined by his family for the annual Trooping the Colour, while on Monday, he took part in the annual Garter Day procession.

He and Kate attended Royal Ascot on Wednesday, while he carried out a number of engagements in Devon on Thursday. And when it comes to gifts for the Prince of Wales’s double celebration, Jennie believes Kate and the kids will have many options.

She explained: “What you get for a man who has everything is anyone’s guess. But I expect the children found some wacky, funny presents for him — perhaps something from the football world or maybe even a video game – we know William is partial to a few lost hours playing games. Catherine, I imagine, will have come up with something rather more romantic for her man, as well, no doubt, as one of her famous homemade cakes. Perhaps she made his favourite chocolate biscuit cake — they had a giant one at their wedding.”

“William has often said that his mother is in his thoughts almost every day, and on his birthday, that was probably truer than ever. I doubt, though, that his thoughts drifted across the pond to California. Harry simply isn’t on William’s radar any more.”

Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales was born second in line to the throne at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, at 9.03pm on June 21, 1982. He weighed 7lb 1 1/2oz and was the firstborn son of the then-Prince and the Princess of Wales.

At just nine months old, he accompanied his parents on a six-week official visit to Australia and New Zealand, which was a break from tradition with royal babies usually left at home in the care of nannies.

His mother Diana, who separated from the then-Prince of Wales in 1992, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. William was just 15 and his brother Prince Harry, was 12, and the boys walked behind the princess’s coffin during a funeral procession through London.

The prince met Kate Middleton at St Andrews University in Fife, and the pair married at Westminster Abbey in 2011 after dating for more than eight years. They welcomed their first child, George, in 2013, followed by Charlotte in 2015, and then Louis in 2018.

After the death of the late Queen in 2022, the King announced in his first historic address that he had made William and Kate the new Prince and Princess of Wales. William has a long-running rift with his brother, the Duke of Sussex, with no sign yet of a reconciliation.